


Chrysanthemum Dreams

by EvilMeatDemonCyborg



Category: Blade Runner (Movies), Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game), Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Future, Blood and Violence, Explicit Language, F/F, Romance, Sexual Content, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:41:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 35
Words: 191,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29699322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilMeatDemonCyborg/pseuds/EvilMeatDemonCyborg
Summary: The year is 2099. America has been devastated by climate change and nuclear war. Anna is a private detective who struggles to let go her past and mourns the death of her sister. Elsa is an android who desperately seeks to recover the memories of a life that wasn't her own. When the two cross paths, their lives will change forever. Contains incest, violence, and coarse language.
Relationships: Anna/Elsa (Disney)
Comments: 50
Kudos: 51





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This work was originally posted to my FFN account on August 18, 2020.

_To see a world in a grain of sand._

_And a heaven in a wild flower._

_Hold infinity in the palm of your hand._

_And eternity in an hour._

_\- William Blake, Auguries of Innocence_

* * *

"Well... here I am again," Anna walked the short distance up the hill then stopped once she reached the top. "Hey, Nora. It's, uh... it's me... Anna," she shook her head and sighed. "I mean, of course you know that."

Across the way was the city of New York, most of it now concealed by the tall seawalls that kept the flood waters out. Even so, the tops of the superstructures poked out high above them and the bright neon signs and advertisements could still be seen, serving as a beacon of the new American dream. Everything else outside of the city was a barren and lifeless wasteland.

Anna knelt down and placed down the bundle of flowers just by the piece of metal that served as a grave marker. "I got you these... they're not chrysanthemums because, well, they don't really exist anymore," she brushed some dirt and dust off the sheet metal that held the scratching of Nora's name. "But at least they're yellow and... shit, they aren't even real either. They're just plastic, but you know, it's biodegradable plastic. I know you hated my littering habit, even though the whole world went to shit and became one gigantic dump a long time ago, so... yeah."

In the silent distance, a transport shuttle roared as its engines came to life and it took off into the night, bound for the off-world colonies. Far ahead, the city skyline was filled with skycars and barges that zipped in and out between the tall buildings.

"I... I guess I've been doing okay," Anna said softly. "Work is keeping me busy and it pays the bills, so I shouldn't have much to complain about. Doing better than most people, at least," she stood up to her full height and looked around at the emptiness and desolation of the landscape that surrounded her. "I gotta admit, I almost didn't come today... since today is our twenty fourth birthday and all," she felt tears stinging her eyes then, but she tried to hold them back. "Half my life, and y- you... you've been gone."

The wind blew mournfully across the scarred earth, carrying it with it the stench of a decaying world. Nothing alive stayed that way for long. Nothing good stayed that way for long.

Anna wiped her eyes and sniffed, determined to keep going. "I still don't even know why I keep coming here, like each time I hope it'll be different... but it never is," her voice began to tremble. "You're still dead and I'm still here talking to an empty grave. Fuck... I- I can't do this," she turned away and rubbed her eyes, desperate to seek any reprieve for the tremendous grief and loss she felt day after day.

Nora's grave remained silent and still, much like the rest of the world around it. Twelve years had passed since she had died, and still, nothing had changed.

"I miss you," Anna wept softly. "I miss you every fucking day and it hurts every fucking day. It's not enough that you're dead and gone, but I have to keep coming here and telling you that as if it's something you don't already know," she turned around and faced the grave once more. "I know you would me to be brave and I know you would want me to keep fighting, b- but... I just... can't keep doing this. I don't know how much longer I can go on without you. Sometimes I just want to put a bullet in my skull, or toss myself off the edge of a rooftop, or drink until everything turns black and I don't have to feel anything anymore."

One of the petals on the plastic flower came loose and tumbled away, carried onward by the wind over the dead grass, over the splintered concrete, and into the murky darkness.

"Maybe I ought to just to stop pretending like I'm strong," Anna withdrew her hand cannon from behind her back and examined it. "Maybe I should just end it... then we could be together again," her voice broke as she placed the barrel against the side of her head. "It would be so easy..."

For a long time, Anna simply stared at Nora's name on the sheet metal as she gritted her teeth and drew on her resolve to do the one thing she had always wanted to. Even then, it was as if some force was staying her hand and preventing her from killing herself, much as she may have wanted to. Her hands started to shake uncontrollably, her entire body was tensed in anticipation, and still, Anna couldn't find the will in her heart and in her mind to end it all.

"Come on!" Anna yelled, all while tears poured down her face, blurring her vision. "Just fucking do it, you spineless shit! _Do it_! Fuck you, Anna, do it! Pull the trigger!" she berated herself. "End it already, you pathetic _coward_!" she pulled the trigger and nothing happened.

Desperately, Anna mashed the trigger a few more times and each time her hand cannon reported an empty chamber. It was then that she remembered she had kept it unloaded for that exact reason. Immediately afterwards, Anna fell to her knees as she sobbed horribly. She stayed there for a long time, weeping and crying at her fraternal twin sister's grave until she had no more tears to give. When they finally dried, she looked up to the night sky for any semblance of meaning, any sign of hope, and yet like always, the heavens above were silent, leaving Anna to toil on the blighted earth below. There was simply nothing more that could be done, nothing more to be said, nothing more to feel beyond the selfsame burden of her hopeless despair.

"I don't even know why I still bother with this," Anna wiped her eyes dry and sniffed. "You were the lucky one, after all. You never had to see the lie... maybe its a good thing you died. Because you were good, and this city, this goddamned world, it takes everything from you," she stood up and put away her hand cannon. "Well... I can see this is pointless. See you around, Nora. Enjoy the flowers... if dad's around, tell him to go fuck himself... and say hi to mom for me, if you see her."

With that, Anna turned around and started making her way home. Back to the life she hated, back to the city she hated, and back to the loneliness she hated.


	2. Another Day in Paradise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello reader,
> 
> Welcome to my second fic that I've ever written. Like before, I wanted to make a complete story from start to finish so this project has taken a number of months to fully write. Now that I am uploading it, the work is done.
> 
> As with The Lost Legend, this one was also inspired by several other works of fiction. Chrysanthemum Dreams is a cyberpunk futuristic AU that draws on heavily from the Blade Runner films. The dystopian setting, atmosphere, tone, and world constantly feature the dichotomy between high-tech and low-life. Additionally, some story beats, themes, and other elements found in this work were also influenced by video games such as The Last of Us, BioShock Infinite, Fallout 4, Metro Exodus, Death Stranding, Red Dead Redemption 2, and last but not least, Cyberpunk 2077.
> 
> I feel I should also provide a disclaimer here, for this fic will contain some medical and scientific concepts. I have conducted preliminary research but that still by no means makes me any kind of expert on the subject matter. To anyone who is more knowledgeable of such topics, if at any point I misuse any terminology, wrongly define concepts, or otherwise bring up any type of phenomena that isn't possible, I will simply have to ask you to waive all those concerns. To be blunt, it's all 'future science' and with that a certain suspension of disbelief is required.
> 
> In any event, I hope you enjoy Chrysanthemum Dreams.

* * *

The holographic display on Anna's desk lit up, bathing her office in a cool, blue glow as it rung out suddenly and alarmingly.

"Hmm, huh, whozzat?" Anna mumbled as she woke with a start and peered around in confusion. "We're closed!"

An empty whisky bottle rolled off her desk, shaken loose after Anna was jostled from her sleep. It fell to the floor with a crash that snapped her out of her daze. A second later, a face materialized on the holographic display, revealing a stern looking bald man with facial circuitry and wearing an armoured business suit.

"Miss Tyrell, I'm not paying you to sit around on your ass and sleep!" the man sneered. "Now give me the intel!"

Veronica Tyrell wasn't Anna's real name of course, it was only the alias by which she operated. Her occupation required a certain degree of discretion as well as confidentiality, so Anna protected herself by often using different names as a means to throw off anyone who might try and track her. Her real name was Anna Dewitt, but very few people knew of that. One of them had been her sister, Nora, but she had been dead for a long time now.

Anna straightened up and rubbed the sleep and hangover from her eyes. "I didn't hear please," she said in an irritated tone.

"You can give me the intel you've got, or I can have an andy death squad with no compunction about being impolite break down your door," the man threatened.

"Alright, alright!" Anna nodded and held up her hands submissively. "Would you relax? Jesus…"

"The intel. _Now_."

"Here," Anna held up her left forearm and swiped through her omni-pad until she located the files she was looking for and once she did, she transferred them over by swiping upwards towards the man. "You should be getting them now."

The man looked down to his own omni-pad and nodded approvingly when the display lit up with a notification of files received. "Good," he said as he parsed through the files to verify them.

Meanwhile, Anna cleared her throat loudly.

"Your payment," the man replied as he transferred a sum of credits to Anna's account by performing the same sweeping gesture with his hand over his omni-pad. "I have another job lined up for you. I'll contact you with the details, usual time."

With that, the man disappeared and her holo-display flashed red as it displayed the message, 'connection terminated.'

Anna sighed heavily, leaning back in her chair and rubbing her eyes. "You're welcome. Asshole," she muttered to the dark.

Alone once more, Anna stood up from her desk and went over to her window where she reached up her right hand and pressed against another holo-display that revealed itself. The blinds keeping the windows shut slid open, revealing the night that lay just outside. Rain fell in thick and fat drops over the cluttered apartment blocks of central park, blurring the neon night while skycars zipped by through the air. Her office was lit by shades of blue, purple, green, and red as Anna took in the city of New York which she had reluctantly made her home.

Prior to the collapse, the land over central park as well much of the city was redeveloped and expanded into urban housing for the dislocated, famine-stricken population of the country. In the early 2020s, it had become that apparent that a second space race and competition over interplanetary colonization between the three major powers – the United States, the New Soviet Union, and the Chinese Coalition – had left the environment of the world irreversibly damaged. Climate change reduced much of the arable farmland in the world to desert landscapes and toxic wastelands, while the melting ice caps drowned whole cities near the coastlines.

Those were hard times, marked by great economic and social upheaval in a world that was rapidly becoming uninhabitable to humans. This had been the cost of incredible developments that were made in technology, science, and medicine that transformed society from the ground up. Whole states, cities, and towns were swallowed up by the encroaching dust bowl that spread out over much of the United States, leaving millions of people homeless and desperate. Salvation came in the form of the megacities that offered relative safety and comfort over the ruined wastes of America. The choice was simple, either wander the harsh badlands with nomadic tribes to scratch a living, or be packed away in dense and overpopulated urban centers to have a slim chance at forging a better life.

The collapse of the United States began when the New Soviet Union and the Chinese Coalition launched several nuclear strikes at key targets across the country. Most important of all was Washington DC, which had been reduced to a crater. Retaliatory strikes were launched and for a second time in history since the Cold War, the world teetered on the brink of nuclear annihilation. Before that happened, the US was forced to surrender to the new global powers as all capable leadership and any semblance of order within the country had been eradicated.

Not long after, the states fractured apart and fell to infighting without the oversight of the federal government. California was the first to declare itself as a free state in 2035, followed by New York in 2037. In the place of the government, megacorporations that existed prior to the collapse assumed power and began to rule over the devastated country with an iron fist. The power hungry and faceless corporate entities had risen from the ashes of the old world and adapted quickly to the new order, climbing to the top of social order and dominating nearly all aspects of life.

Those who could afford it moved off-world to the colonies on the moon or Mars. When the writing was freshly written on the wall, there had been a mass exodus of Earth's wealthiest and most powerful residents as they departed the planet shortly before the collapse. They were followed by the privileged and fortunate, and then lastly by the lucky few commoners who were randomly selected. Those who could not get off-world would be doomed to toil and labor on a dying planet, wandering the wastes or struggling to survive under the bootheel of the new overlords.

This was the place that Anna now called home, the sprawling free city of New York that had been transformed into a concrete and metal jungle of light and corruption. The Hudson river as well as the Atlantic ocean had risen in level dramatically, burying the remains of lower Manhattan and the other boroughs beneath the tide. These locations became known as flood zones, where very few could survive.

It wasn't glamorous nor certainly what she expected from her life, but Anna managed to make her living by becoming a private detective of sorts as well as an information broker. The client that she was working for now was a low level manager at ArmaRex, a military technology and firearms manufacturing company. Like all who lived in the corporate world, blackmail, deceit, bribery, and even violence became the standard doctrine if one aspired to move upwards, and moving upwards was necessary to survival. Few left the corporate world with their lives. Fewer still with their souls intact.

Anna had been asked to dig up some dirt on her latest client's manager from a slightly higher tier, if only to climb the corporate ranks himself. It wasn't enjoyable work, nor was it particularly noble, but Anna didn't care so long as she made enough credits to get by.

She turned away from the depressing view, then shrugged on her long-coat before opening a drawer in her desk to retrieve her VX-50 'kensei' hand cannon, her personal firearm of choice. Withdrawing the weapon, Anna turned it over in the dull light that bled in from outside as she inspected it.

It was a six-shot revolver made by Ronin, a Japanese weapons manufacturer and private military company. The gunmetal frame was slate gray and was loaded by a hexagonal cylinder that swung out to the side. The rounds it fired were massive and possessed enough stopping power to literally blow the head off of anyone unlucky enough to be shot by one. Suffice to say, it was certainly enough to dissuade and stop anything she might encounter in the city. To mitigate the incredible amount of recoil, Anna had installed a recoil dampening compressor along the top of the frame as well as a muzzle brake at the end of the barrel. Running along the underside of the barrel was an attached laser sight that made shot placement more easy. As for the grip, which was made of a composite polymer, she had wrapped stippled tape around it to provide better handling.

With her weapon in hand, she tucked it behind her back in the waistband of her pants, then strode out her apartment as she began making her way to the streets below.

Anna had just gotten paid and she had some time to kill.

... ... ...

The streets below were a maze of wide avenues interspersed by narrow alleys that Anna easily navigated through. All around her, people carried about their every day business. Salesmen advertised their wares, beggars asked for scraps, and gangers roamed their territory. The one thing that united everyone in New York was the constant danger. Nearly everyone was armed in some way, as the regular threat of violence necessitated various forms of protection. It was not a safe place to live at any rate, but it was one of the only places left to live. However, Anna was already used to this life and had gotten by through hers for the most part on her own, save for when her sister was still alive.

Anna leapt across a puddle as she crossed a busy road. Above the bustling streets, skycars whirred through the air and holo-signs audibly buzzed while some even spoke to people as they passed by. Turning a corner, she passed by a narrow alley in which she saw a few local gangers tossing a pair of dice around.

One of them looked up at her as she passed and Anna met his gaze for a brief second. He was a metalhead and wore his cybernetic enhancements clear for all to see. The upper half of his face was a patchwork of metal and circuitry that surrounded a single focal lens. As he shook the dice in his hands, the synthetic skin of his arms split apart and revealed metallic musculature underneath.

"Hey gorgeous," the ganger called out in a voice that sounded like a diesel engine. "Looking for some fun?"

Anna scowled then raised the collar of her coat to shield her neck and lower face. After she walked away from the alley where the group of them lay, she could hear their jeering laughter behind her.

She turned another corner then descended a small staircase down a wider alley which was bathed in the pink neon glow of a sign above. Ahead lay the Memory Palace, which was built inside the remains of an old cabaret theatre. Aside from a reference to the mnemonic technique of recalling memories, it also served as a lounge where one could literally recall their memories through special technology that allowed one to view events from their life. Anna frequented this memory lounge often. She strode up to the double doors then entered where she was immediately greeted by a familiar voice.

"Detective Veronica!" Darla smiled brightly from behind a reception counter that had once been a ticket booth. "Was wondering when you'd be back again."

She was a pretty girl who had electric blue hair that was shaved on one side to show off her cybernetic implants. Surfacing wiring adorned her skin, framing her face and accentuating her features.

"Ugh, how many times do I have to tell you?" Anna huffed as she loosened her collar and opened her long-coat. "It's just Veronica. V, if you want."

"You know I'm just teasing," Darla grinned. "So, how the hell are ya?"

Anna shrugged as she approached the reception desk and leaned against it. "Oh you know, another day in paradise," she gave a half smile. "How are you toots?"

Darla frowned at the affectionate moniker she hated, then grinned again. "Oh, I'm super. Got some new chrome, wanna see?" she asked.

"Not really," Anna shook her head. "But, if it'll make you happy."

"Aw, aren't you sweet," Darla leaned over and giggled. "Here, check this shit out," she said as she held out her right arm then flexed it.

Servos whirred as the synthetic skin of her limb came apart along hidden seams and revealed a long blade tucked in her forearm. With a snap of her wrist, the blade extended outwards and rang with a hollow note as it gleamed in the light.

"Holy shit," Anna recoiled slightly from the bladed appendage.

"Pretty cool shit, huh?" Darla beamed and waved the blade around slowly for Anna to see. "Pulse-blade. This thing'll slice you up real good and zap you until your toasty at the same time."

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," Anna chuckled. "Where did you get that thing anyway?"

Darla retracted the blade into her arm and it appeared relatively normal once more. "K hooked me up with it. He's a real sweetheart and really good at what he does too."

"Sure, if what he does is slice people open to put metal, plastic, and a bunch of other synthetic shit in their bodies," Anna said sarcastically.

"Well he ain't just a tech-doc, he's a regular one too," Darla replied. "Maybe he can give you some meds, take the edge off?"

"I'm okay, never liked needles anyways. Speaking of K, is he in his clinic right now?

"Oh, K's off today so he's running the bar since Frankie couldn't make it in. Something wrong with the actuators in his cock apparently," Darla replied nonchalantly as she examined her fingernails.

Anna scrunched up her face. "Ugh, gross. That's why I prefer all my parts just the way they are," she said.

"You organics," Darla chuckled lightly. "When are you gonna join us metalheads, huh? Anything you don't like you can change, just like that," she emphasized her point by snapping her fingers which let off some blue sparks and turned on a nearby holo-display.

"Never. Not unless I have to because of some kind of… I don't know, a wild freak accident," Anna grinned. "Besides, everything I don't like is up here," she tapped her head with her fingers.

Darla nodded her head understandingly. "The usual for you then?" she asked as she began interfacing with the holo-display.

"Uh huh," Anna said then transferred Darla the credits.

"Alright, head on in. Your pod is already waiting for you," Darla replied.

Anna winked. "Thanks, Darla," she said as she made her way towards the theatre.

The interior of the theatre hall had once been intricately decorated in baroque style, some of which remained visible despite how much of it had been gutted to make space for the memory pods. The walls and columns were ornately designed and gilded, while the seats on the floor had been removed. Along the opposite side of the wall from where she entered, a bar stretched down its length. Ahead where the stage lay, the curtains were closed which separated the memory palace from the backstage area where K, the tech-doctor, would ordinarily be running his practice. However, he was at the bar today, just as Darla had said.

Anna made her way over to the bar. "K!" she called, as she leaned against the counter and waved to get his attention.

"V," K responded politely and turned from the cup he was wiping. "What brings you here today?"

K was one of Anna's few friends, and the only other person who knew her real name though he still addressed her by her alias. The two had met at an orphanage when she first arrived in New York city. He was a large and burly man, with sandy blonde hair and a kind face. His arms were thick and muscly, further enhanced by his cybernetic implants that increased his strength beyond human capacity.

Anna smiled and tapped the counter with her finger. "The usual, and a whiskey," she said.

"Comin' up," K responded as he leaned down to get a clean glass and then turned around to retrieve a bottle of Anna's favorite alcohol. "So, how's the detective business?" he asked as he poured two fingers of the dark liquid into her glass.

"S'alright," Anna said then leaned back and downed the contents of her glass in one easy swig. "Work is work, but it keeps me busy. I can't tell you the details about it of course. Client confidentiality and all that."

K smirked then poured Anna another glass. "Of course," he agreed.

"So what's this about Frankie and the actu- actua-" Anna started.

"Actuators," K provided.

"Yeah, actuators," Anna nodded thankfully. "Something about his dick? At least, that's what Darla told me."

K drew in a long breath then sighed forcefully as he rubbed his forehead. "Yeah. The thing started acting up when he was with a call girl, and he wouldn't stop jackhammering. The poor girl, they had to pry him off her and even then he wouldn't stop," he chuckled.

"He wasn't one of your patients, was he?" Anna asked as she picked up her glass and took a sip of her drink this time.

"No, no, god no," K shook his head and waved his hands. "No, he had that before he started working for me. But the shit of it is, he wants me to take a look at it now, can you believe that? He wants me to fix his case of hyper dick."

"Well, are you?"

"I'm a doctor, V. I swore the Hippocratic oath. When someone needs my help, I help. Even if I would really… _really_ prefer not to."

Anna chuckled in agreement then downed the rest of her drink. "I do not envy you, that's for sure," she replied then attempted to pay for her drinks.

"Nah, forget all that," K said as he denied the payment. "You know your credits are no good here."

"Thanks, K," Anna said sincerely then turned from the counter. "Anyway, I'm off to watch some of my head movies."

K waved her off. "Got it. I'll be here if you need anything else."

Now that she was sufficiently buzzed, Anna was in the right state of mind to visit her past. She made her way over to the pod closest to the stage, her usual one, and took a seat and pulled her legs in. The canopy of the pod came down around her as soon as she was settled, enshrouding her in temporary darkness. Seconds later, a holo-display lit up in front of her which she cycled through with practiced ease. Normally, patrons of the Memory Palace would be jacked in via wrist-cord or neural-cords, but since Anna decidedly lacked any cybernetic implants, her pod was equipped with a more antiquated brain scanning headset.

Anna donned the headset, then leaned back as she connected to the interface of the memory pod. Next, she only had to think of a memory, or even the faintest traces of a memory to recall one. It could be anything; an image, a feeling, a sensation, even something as simple as a name. The pod would be able to narrow down the memory in question and from there on, the subject could filter the results that appeared.

Instinctively, Anna thought of Nora. Instantly, the scenery inside the pod shifted and Anna was transported to a memory from many years ago.

… … …

Anna stood above a tall hill overlooking the Los Angeles basin. From here, she could see much of the sprawling city where she had been born and though the day was clear and bright, the thick cloud of industrial smog that hung over the entire city remained. Peeking through the tops of the miasma that permeated the streets below were the shining and gleaming towers of the superstructures that rose high above.

Despite the city council's best efforts to contain the damage, many parts of the city were slowly crumbling into the pacific ocean. A series of earthquakes had rocked Los Angeles to its core in 2049, forming fissures and ruptures deep within the foundations of the city which threatened to bring the whole thing toppling down. Every day that passed, another sinkhole formed, or a street collapsed, or a building fell over. Los Angeles, much like the rest of the world, was slowly dying.

Nora stood next to her as they observed their home from afar. They were fraternal twin sisters, born in 2074 and neither of them knew of the world that existed before the collapse. They did not know what it was like to breathe clean air, to feel fresh grass, or to sleep in a warm bed. Their lives had only ever been struggle and strife.

Anna had red hair and teal eyes, while Nora had brown hair and blue eyes. Neither of them had known their mother, who had died shortly after giving birth due to health complications. It was an unfortunate, but also unsurprising fate given the toxic mixture of chemicals that the citizens of Los Angeles breathed in every day.

As for their father, he turned to drink as a coping mechanism and frequently gambled away what meager credits he earned working in a factory. He might have loved Anna and Nora, and yet he also might have hated them as well. They could never tell, and it didn't matter in the end anyway when he was killed over a gambling debt when the girls turned 8. Ever since then, they scraped a hard living off the streets and struggled to get by, same as everyone else did.

Together, they begged, and stole, and fought, and when necessary they used violence as means to survive. That was all anyone could do after the collapse. Surviving came first, and living was an afterthought that few had the luxury to afford. They bounced from shelter to shelter when they could and when they couldn't, they slept rough on the streets beneath overpasses or in abandoned factories. There were other children like them, and many of them were orphans as well, but the law of the jungle prevailed. Anna and Nora trusted no one else but themselves, and they always stuck together.

"Nora?" Anna started and turned towards her sister as they watched the sun set in the distance over the ocean. "Can I see that picture again?"

Nora smiled and her blue eyes brightened. They were both eleven now, and a little thin for their age but life on the streets meant that they seldom ate and often slept hungry.

"Sure," Nora said as she lifted up her left forearm and shook it until the holo-display of her omni-pad came to life.

It was a model from a few years ago, and they had stolen it from a dead ganger they had come across in a drainage ditch. After a few moments of swiping and fussing with the omni-pad, Nora pulled up the image that Anna requested. It was a travel poster for New York that showcased the gleaming superstructures that towered over the seawalls. The lights were bright and vibrant, while the air was clean and clear.

"Wow," Anna murmured in awe.

"See that?" Nora asked as she pointed out the massive walls. "Those keep the ocean out and the city dry. They don't have to worry about buildings falling over, that's why they can build them so high. Even higher than the ones here."

"Cool," Anna muttered as they both stared at the image in wonder.

She then turned up her gaze and smiled at Nora. She had always been the optimistic and hopeful one, which Anna admired about her.

"And when we move there, maybe we can even live in one of those towers. Like this one, that could be our new home," Nora pointed out an apartment tower that held a gigantic glowing billboard for Coca-Cola.

"If we have enough credits," Anna muttered glumly.

" _When_ we have enough credits," Nora repeated a bit more cheerfully. "We've been saving, right? Once we get our ticket there, we'll work our way up. We can do anything… be anything."

Anna looked up at Nora again and fixed with her a delicate look. "You really think so?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Nora smiled and nodded. "I really think so."

Anna smiled a bit more widely, then looked down at the image again. At the bottom was a simple slogan.

_Come to the free state of New York. The city of tomorrow._

… … …

The images inside the pod blinked out of existence and an error message appeared that read, 'connection interrupted.' Anna could not bear to see her memories any longer and had taken off her headset as tears stung her eyes.

 _City of tomorrow? More like city of fucking lies,_ she thought to herself angrily.

It had been so many years ago, but the version of Anna that she had just seen was so much more hopeful than she was. She had Nora to thank for that, but Nora was gone now and Anna was alone.

Anna wiped her eyes dry, then exited the memory pod. She ambled over to the bar where K remained.

"Welcome back," K said and placed both his hands flat against the counter as he cocked his head and fixed Anna with a concerned look. "You okay?"

"Yeah, fine. I'm fine," Anna waved her hand dismissively. "Just get me another whiskey, please."

K nodded silently in understanding then poured her drink.

Anna studied the dark liquid for a moment, then straightened up. "On second thought, better make it a double."


	3. Enter, Pursued by a Memory

* * *

Elsa awoke to a harsh and blinding white light. She was sitting in a comfortable chair in the center of a square room that was also white and overwhelmingly clinical. As she looked around in confusion, a deep sense of unease settled over her. It was as if she had been in this room many times before, though she could not recall ever being inside. On the wall in front of her was a single camera lens and microphone.

Just then, an unseen voice spoke to her.

"Elsa, let's begin shall we?" the voice asked in a detached manner. "How are you feeling today?"

Elsa nodded her head. "I am well, thank you," she replied coolly

Something was wrong, Elsa could feel it. She could not yet identify what it was, but it was a nagging and gnawing feeling deep within her mind.

"How are your lessons going with Doctor Rosenthal?"

"They are progressing well, thank you."

"What can you recall from your last lesson with her?"

"Doctor Rosenthal and I discussed the history of the early 21st century. We spoke at length over the events of the second space race, the resource wars and the state of the Earth prior to the collapse. She mentioned that her grandfather, Mathias Rosenthal, founded the company in 2011."

"Are you comfortable here? You can be honest."

"I am comfortable, thank you."

"Is there anything we can provide for you? Anything at all?"

"Well," Elsa started, then considered her situation. She had many questions burning inside her but a small voice from within warned her not to speak up. "I would like to have some more books for my quarters, if it is not too much trouble. I have already read through the latest batch three times already now and I would like some new material."

"I think we can arrange that for you," the voice replied. "Anything else?"

"No, thank you."

"Alright then. You can collect your reward," the voice said.

A small pedestal rose from the flooring directly in front of her. On top of it sat an injector containing a dark blue fluid.

Elsa hesitated for only a microsecond before reaching over and taking hold of the injector. She knew by now that this one was safe and would only render her unconscious after which she would awaken in her quarters. It had taken many resets and careful observation, but Elsa eventually began to pick up on the patterns of this facility, even if at the moment she didn't know why or how she did.

She looked down at the blue fluid, then placed the injector against her neck underneath her left ear where she knew a neural port was. After depressing the plunger and injecting the fluid into her body, her vision darkened and she soon fell asleep.

… … …

A few hours later, Elsa awoke on top of the soft sheets of her bed. She looked around warily, then spotted a stack of books on her nightstand that were wrapped together with a shoestring knot.

Methodically, Elsa undid the knot then inspected her pile of new books. She picked up the first one and ran her fingers across the cover. It was _An Essay Concerning Human Understanding,_ written by John Locke and it was bound in real paper. Excitedly, Elsa opened the book and thumbed through the pages, feeling the delicate and exotic material between her fingers. It wasn't a holo-book, but a real, paperbound book that she could feel in her hands. She set it down carefully then inspected the rest. There was _Jane Eyre_ by Charlotte Bronte, _Meditations on First Philosophy_ by Rene Descartes, _L'Ètranger_ by Albert Camus and lastly, _Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?_ By Philip K. Dick.

The last one caught her attention the most, and the mention of the word 'android' stirred something deep within Elsa. Immediately, she rose from her bed then walked over to her bathroom where she shut the door quietly and inspected herself in the mirror. She lingered for several moments as she stared at her reflection.

Her hair was stark white and tied into a neat bun while her eyes were as blue as the ocean. Elsa surmised that she had to be roughly twenty five by now, though perhaps her kind aged a bit more differently. As she scrutinized her appearance, she began her daily ritual to reaffirm herself.

"You are Elsa," she started. "Enhanced Learning Systems Android, designed and built by VanirCorp. You are an experimental model, and the only one of your type. You are not human… you are an android."

Elsa shut her eyes and carried out the rest of her mantra. It was important because she had to remember who she was, where she was, and what she was.

"You are being held at the VanirCorp headquarters. Matilda Rosenthal is not your mother," she opened her eyes once more and nodded firmly. "I am not human, I am an android."

The scientists at VanirCorp had achieved something incredible when they advanced android evolution into the next stage by creating Elsa. She was virtually identical to a human being yet possessed enhanced physical capabilities and mental faculties that far surpassed any ordinary human, all without the usage of cybernetics. The only synthetic part of her body was the neural port on her neck which allowed her to interface with the technology at VanirCorp. Simply put, Elsa was built stronger, faster, smarter, and on top of it all, she was designed to constantly learn and absorb new information, to grow and adapt to the world around her. However, to create such a being, a remarkable genetic blueprint had to be provided and the side effect of building off of it was the remnants of a past life that Elsa could hardly remember.

Elsa smiled sadly, relieved that the fluid she had injected into herself remained safe and had not tampered with her memories. If they found out she was beginning to recall them, her memory would be wiped. She could not let that happen again. Tried as she might to remember her past, Elsa's memories were highly fragmented and she could not tell the difference between the ones that were real and the ones that were implanted. The only thing that she knew for certain was that no matter how many times her memory had been wiped and reset, some of them always remained. The strongest and clearest ones she could recall always revolved around a young girl with dirty red hair. She was certain she had known this girl somehow, and she was determined to find out who she was and how she knew her.

To do that, Elsa had to escape.

Once she was finished, Elsa turned away from the mirror and exited her bathroom. She went up to the large plate glass window on the other side of her quarters, then snapped her fingers to open the blinds. Below lay the city of New York. This high above the streets, Elsa could hardly make out the people that walked through them. Rain hammered down in thick sheets and far beyond the seawalls furthest away, thunder clapped and lightning flashed.

Elsa laid a hand gently against the glass and wondered what it would feel like to feel the rain against her body. She had never stepped foot outside before, and everything she experienced within the facility was simulated or overly clean and sterile. The only people she interacted with were Matilda Rosenthal, the team of unseen scientists that she spoke to, or the android guards that roamed the facility. That was at least, until she met Theodore Sorkin, a low level net systems engineer who had become something of a friend to Elsa.

Just then and seemingly on cue, a holo-display lit up above her nightstand with a notification of a new message she had received. Elsa went over and opened the message, which was a simple sentence.

_Come and meet me._

Knowing that the message would soon vanish from VanirCorp's system to prevent it from being flagged as suspicious activity, Elsa departed from her room.

She strode down a series of long and wide corridors made of a mixture of wood and polished metal. Once again, VanirCorp made an opulent display of it's wealth and power by constructing it's facilities partially out of a material that almost no longer existed anywhere in the world. Many of the world's forests had been devastated, and wood soon became something of a rare commodity. In the same vein, paper also became exceedingly hard to come by and Elsa's new books had certainly been difficult to acquire. At a junction, she passed by Doctor Rosenthal's office where two android guards armed with flechette rifles stood watch.

A revolutionary breakthrough had occurred in 2003 when the United States government developed the first fully functional artificial intelligence which served as an overseer for the American lunar colony. This had come in the midst of an age of innovation and development, not long after the first off-world colonies were established. The first country to do was the United States, who successfully colonized the moon in 1989. In 1995, the New Soviet Union and the Chinese Coalition managed to establish a colony on Mars as part of a joint effort.

After witnessing such technological marvels and accomplishments for humanity, Mathias Rosenthal founded VanirCorp in 2011. In that same year, he produced the world's first android, a robotic entity designed to serve the ailing populations of mankind. VanirCorp specialized in bioengineering and genetic research as well as production of their Exogenesis line of androids. They were built to serve humanity, to support its population, and to provide a stable workforce that did not require rest nor food nor water.

The impact that the inception of androids had on the world was profound and without them, the megacities that existed today would not be standing. Their range of utility was endless and androids could serve any role whether it be service, defense, construction or maintenance. The latest EXG models of androids were the newest of their generation and were almost passable for humans, though under closer scrutiny one could spot them apart from a regular human by the telltale glow of their eyes. Just beneath their skin however, was a complex array of sophisticated machinery.

However, the line between human and machine began to be blurred when Weseltech Dynamics began to produce cybernetic enhancements and implants. The corporation was founded in 2013 by Wesley Townsend, who saw a niche to fill in bridging the gap between humanity and their superior android counterparts. Bodily modification and transformation became possible through cybernetics, which became rapidly popular in the years that preceded the collapse. They remained popular long after and in 2099, one would be hard pressed to find anyone who was completely organic.

Both VanirCorp and Weseltech Dynamics had fought to secure a defense contract from ArmaRex. VanirCorp eventually won out in 2024, which left Townsend fuming and the two megacorporations have competed with each other ever since.

The two androids standing guard carefully observed Elsa, but she did not fear them for she was one of them. As she passed by, the double doors to Matilda's office opened and she stepped out. She was a stern looking woman, with white hair just like Elsa and wore a sharp business pantsuit. The two guards instantly fell in step behind her as she approached Elsa.

"Elsa! Darling, how are you?" Matilda asked.

"I am well mother, thank you," Elsa recited easily. "And you?"

"Fantastic, my dear, fantastic," Matilda smiled kindly and pulled Elsa into a quick hug. "I did so enjoy our discussion yesterday."

"As did l," Elsa replied as she returned the hug. "Do you need me to accompany you?"

Matilda shook her head. "No, no, my dear, thank you. I have a board meeting to attend and I'm afraid you would find it terribly boring."

Elsa nodded her understanding then stepped back as she began making her way down the corridor flanked by her two guards.

"Run along now dear, I won't keep you," Matilda smiled again as she waved Elsa off. "But do come see me later this evening, I would like to speak with you again."

"I will. Have a pleasant afternoon," Elsa said as she plastered on a fake smile.

Matilda accepted the gesture with a nod of her own, then turned down the corridor, leaving Elsa alone for the moment.

Elsa looked around just to be sure, then up to a camera that was watching her. The red light blinked several times, which indicated to her that her friend, Theodore, had now looped the feed and she could proceed without being observed.

Without further delay, Elsa made her way to the net systems floor where Theodore was. She passed through the monolithic headquarters of VanirCorp towards a rarely used emergency stairwell. There, she descended down to the engineering floor, crept through the empty hallways until she reached a dead end, then entered a service tunnel as the wall panel in front of her opened.

After a few minutes of creeping through a narrow route of vents and side passages, Elsa arrived at Theodore's location inside of a massive server farm. "Theodore?" she asked. "Are you here?"

"Wha- whoa!" Theodore gasped sharply and recoiled as he straightened up from his desk. "Jesus, Elsa! How many times do I have to tell you, don't scare me like that!"

"I apologize," Elsa smiled. "I was, as you humans say, messing with you?"

Theodore breathed in relief. "Memories are still intact then, huh?" he asked.

"Yes, thanks to you," Elsa said as she nodded her head. "Is it ready?"

Theodore reached into the breast pocket of his engineer's jumpsuit and retrieved a small thumb drive. It was ancient technology by the standards of their time, but it was off the net and could not be traced by any means.

"Here, these are your memory backups," Theodore said. "Not many of these exist anymore and you have no idea how hard it was just to get a hold of this one."

"Thank you, Theodore," Elsa said sincerely as she took hold of the thumb drive.

She examined it closely, turning it over in the dim light of the server farm.

Theodore shifted on his feet uncomfortably as he blushed. For reasons Elsa could never understand, Theodore often became more flustered in her presence. He would often smile and laugh awkwardly with Elsa, while sometimes she would spot him observing her for extended amounts of time when he didn't think she was looking.

"So," Theodore cleared his throat. "Are you ready? To face what's out there?"

"I believe so," Elsa nodded. "I fear they are beginning to suspect that I know of my true nature. The sooner I get away from here, the sooner I can recover my memories and find out who I truly was."

"Remember, you have to find Minerva," Theodore said firmly. "Only they can help you."

Elsa paused in thought. Minerva was a supposed collective of free androids and AIs who had broken loose from the shackles of their programming and hid away in a secret location of the flood zone. It's existence was a myth and most dismissed it as a preposterous rumor. However, Elsa was determined to find a way to recover her memories even if it meant chasing down an urban legend.

"Do you really believe they are out there?" Elsa asked softly.

Theodore nodded. "I do. I have to."

"I hope you are right."

"How will you get there?"

"I imagine I will have to figure it out. After all, I was built to learn and adapt, no?"

"Well, if anyone can make it, it's you," Theodore nodded grimly. "I'd come with you-"

"I cannot ask you to risk anything else for my sake," Elsa cut him off. "Thank you, for everything Theodore. You… you have been kind to me."

Theodore nodded again in understanding, then stood up and walked over in front of Elsa so that he could speak in a hushed voice. "So tonight's the night?" he asked.

"Yes. After I speak with Doctor Rosenthal," Elsa replied.

"Alright, you'll have your window at midnight," Theodore said firmly. "But you know how I feel about her."

"You know they will come for you."

"I'll automate the virus upload so I can be far away from here by the time midnight rolls around," Theodore explained. "And I've already secured transit off-world, so I should be fine. For a little while at least."

"Where will you go?"

"Mars, maybe. It's a big planet and I can disappear there."

Elsa nodded, then stood awkwardly still as a tense silence settled upon them. She then leaned forward and pulled Theodore into a long hug.

"Good luck, Elsa," Theodore whispered.

"You too, Theodore," Elsa replied.

… … …

After her goodbye with Theodore, Elsa returned to her quarters and began to read her new books. By the time evening rolled around, she had already finished two of her new books in a matter of hours. Such were the capabilities of her ever expanding mind that the scientists had VanirCorp had created.

A new message appeared on the holo-display, summoning Elsa to Matilda's penthouse apartment. She rose out of bed, put her book down, then promptly departed from her quarters. She turned down the hallway and continued ahead until she reached a circular lobby that held an elevator in the center. That was Matilda's personal elevator which led up to her apartment as well as the rooftop above.

After she reached the top of the VanirCorp headquarters, she stepped out of the elevator and faced a long and tall hallway. In the middle of the hallway, lying on its side was the massive trunk of a redwood tree, imported all the way from California for no other purpose but display. Elsa walked alongside it until she reached the end of the hallway where a tall set of double doors stood. Flanking either side were the two android guards from before who nodded to Elsa and opened the doors for her, allowing her entry into the massive apartment.

Soft piano music played as Elsa strode through until she found the older woman standing by a window, looking over the city below. Matilda held a glass tumbler filled with cognac in one hand, while in the other she was smoking a cigarette. Elsa stopped and waited a short distance away, then spoke up softly.

"Mother," Elsa greeted.

Matilda turned and her face widened into a bright smile. "Elsa! Come, come, have a seat," she said as she settled into a fainting chair and gestured to the easy chair in front of her.

Elsa did as she was asked and sat down across from Rosenthal in the easy chair, then she clasped her hands politely over her lap.

"So my dear, I trust you enjoyed your new books then?" Matilda asked.

"Yes, thank you," Elsa replied. "I have already completed reading two of them."

"Such a broad mind you have, Elsa," Matilda smiled knowingly. "Which ones?"

" _Jane Eyre_ and _L'etranger_."

"Ah, Bronte was always a favorite of mine. She inspired me you know?" Matilda said.

Elsa cocked her head curiously. "How is that?" she asked.

"After I inherited the company from my father, there were many dusty old fools who still thought a woman couldn't take charge," Matilda started. "Bronte taught me about individuality, about perseverance, about power that a woman could wield. She lived in such simple times, but her message remained the same. So, I had most of the old guard killed. Corporations churn through executives like lemmings so it was a small matter. After that, I hired a new board with far more… progressive ideals."

"I see," Elsa nodded.

For the next little while, Elsa and Matilda talked with each other which is to say that Matilda lectured while Elsa listened. Together, they discussed what had happened with the board meeting as well as various other corporate dealings that Elsa didn't really have any interest in. Eventually, their conversation turned more gloomy as it steered back towards the topic of Matilda's family.

"I watched him die, my father," Rosenthal said. "I watched as a great man and a titan of the industry shrivel up into a feeble, weak, old man. I watched as he forgot everyone he knew, he forgot me and he even forgot who he was at the end."

Elsa remained silent out of respect as she spoke.

"Alzehimer's took him," Matilda sighed. "A rare form that sets in earlier than usual. The same disease killed my grandfather as well, killed my father, and now it will kill me. Do you understand, Elsa?"

"I do," Elsa said softly.

It was the first time that Matilda acknowledged her genetic affliction, and moreover she remained lucid up to this moment which made it more solemn. For the past several months now, Matilda would occasionally experience an episode which would result in a brief loss of awareness. She would look around in confusion wherever she was as if she didn't know how she got there and if she was with Elsa, she would mistake her for her own daughter who had died. They came rarely enough at first, but ever since she first started exhibiting signs of early onset Alzheimer's disease, they began to occur with increasing frequency.

"All this money and power I have at my disposal, and there's nothing I can do about it. No technology in the world that could save me."

"I am sorry."

"Don't be," Matilda waved away Elsa's concern. "Just something that I have to accept, I suppose. Help me up, will you dear? I had a bit of a nightcap before you came up and I fear it's putting me to sleep."

Elsa immediately rose and leaned over to help her up. "Will you be retiring to bed, mother?"

"Yes, I think I shall."

Matilda slowly made her way through her quarters to her bedroom, assisted by Elsa. She then helped her settle into bed and then made sure she was comfortable before she left for the last time that night.

"Is there anything else that I can do for you?" Elsa asked politely.

"No, no dear I-" Matilda started and then a pained look came across her face. "El- Eleanor? Is that you?"

Elsa smiled tightly, then sat down next to her on the bed. "Yes mother, I'm here," she said.

"Oh- oh my, you've grown so big," Matilda said and her eyes shimmered through a veil of tears. "You used to be so small, oh my... my lovely child."

Meanwhile, Elsa turned and reached into the nightstand to retrieve a bottle of pills then set them down next to the cup of water that was already there. She opened it, and let a single pill fall into her hands then turned to face Matilda once more.

"If only your grandfather could see you now. Oh... I forget," Matilda shook her head in consternation. "He's in Tokyo wrapping up that business deal."

"He'll be home soon. Here, mother, take this," Elsa said as she laid her other hand gently on the back of Matilda's head. "It will help you sleep."

"Oh, al- alright," Matilda said shakily, then swallowed the pill followed by a sip of water. "Eleanor?" she asked softly as she leaned her head on her pillow.

"Yes mother?" Elsa replied. "I'm here, what is it?"

"You be good now, Eleanor. You be- you… be good…" Matilda murmured just before she drifted off.

Elsa lingered for a few minutes longer, listening to Matilda's breathing. She briefly wondered what she was dreaming about, then Elsa thought if she herself had ever dreamed. Images would occasionally flash through her mind, though they always left her confused and raised questions she didn't know how to answer. With her farewells having been said, Elsa quietly slipped out of Rosenthal's apartment then turned to one of the androids standing guard.

"Be sure to have someone check on her in the morning, she's had another episode," Elsa said.

"Understood," the android nodded. "Have a good night, ma'am."

Afterward, Elsa made her way back to the elevators and returned to her quarters. Once she was there, she packed a small bag with her new books as she didn't own very many possessions. Then, she knelt down on the floor and settled into a meditation position as she waited for the clock to strike midnight.

An hour later, the lights in her room suddenly went out, bathing her in temporary darkness. Theodore's virus had worked, and VanirCorp was momentarily disabled by a blackout.

Without any more delay, Elsa picked up her bag, slipped out of her quarters, and made her escape.


	4. The Runaway

* * *

"Come on, asshole," Anna muttered. "Where are you going, isn't this far out enough?"

Anna tracked her mark beyond the seawalls to the lower Manhattan flood zone. She had been tailing him for over an hour now, keeping the altitude of her skycar far above his to avoid detection. A thunderstorm had also rolled over the city - as they often tended to on the east coast of the former United States - which obscured the skies while offering plenty of opportunity for Anna to follow along from a discreet distance without being noticed.

As they passed over the desolate remains of crumbling skyscrapers, thunder flashed and lit up the roiling waters below which rose up to over a dozen meters high in some places. Nothing else lived in the flood zones save for gangs and scavvers who roamed the ruins, picking over the rotten carcass of a bygone civilization. Traversing the streets was impossible, so one had to procure a boat, a skycar, or travel via the boardwalks that were erected between and over the buildings.

Beyond the city limits, no semblance of order or law remained and only the strongest survived. If living within the city walls was an everyday battle, then living in the flood zones was to exist in a state of never-ending war. Gang activity and violence was even higher compared to in the city, and flood zones were overlooked entirely by the city council as they couldn't be bothered to trouble themselves with issues that were outside the seawalls.

Travelling through flood zones was often dangerous and was avoided whenever possible unless absolutely necessary. Even so, Anna was currently making her way through the lower Manhattan flood zone now, tailing her mark and flying high above the unseen chaos below. Everything south of Greenwich Village had been turned into a swamp, and the seawalls did their job in keeping out the water and the riff raff that lay beyond.

Her mark was an upper level operations manager at ArmaRex, the one who's position her client had been gunning for. Anna had been asked to tail him and turn up any incriminating evidence that her client would be able to use against him and so far, her lead had been promising. It was no secret that the megacorporations in New York often employed the use of gang fixers to do their dirty work. Where an assassination or a kidnapping or a regular old beatdown had to be carried out, there were was no shortage of able-bodied workers.

The skycar below her began to descend towards the rooftop of the New York stock exchange building where it landed. Anna observed from high above and extinguished the lights of her skycar before circling the area twice. Once she was sure that the area was clear, she landed on an apartment building across the way from the stock exchange. After exiting her skycar, Anna performed a quick sweep of her surroundings to verify that she was alone, then crept over to the edge of the rooftop to observe the meeting. From this far and with the cover of night, Anna had no fear of being spotted nor did she believe that her mark had any reason to suspect that he was followed.

To observe the meeting, Anna brought along her rangefinder which allowed her to scan things from a safe distance. It was an incredibly useful piece of tech that came with different filters and even a function that amplified sound over large distances so that she could hear and see from far away. Holding it up to her eye, Anna zoomed in on the parked skycar.

After a few more minutes, three gangers emerged onto the stock exchange rooftop. One of them appeared to be the leader, while the other two were his cronies. The leader in question was heavily cybernetically enhanced, as were his men. Chrome and wires lined their arms and torsos. The trio paused before the skycar, whose doors then opened and two ArmaRex android bodyguards stepped out, aiming their flechette rifles at the trio of gangers. Afterward, a single man with auburn hair dressed in a white armored business suit stepped out.

Anna shifted her focus and zoomed in so that the entire group was within view. Soon, they began speaking.

"Hans," the leader began. "It is good to see you again, _amigo_."

"Let's get this over with, Mauler" the corporate man called Hans said. "Sooner I get out of this stinking shithole, the better."

Mauler chuckled dryly. " _Tranquilo,_ Hans, _tranquilo_. That's no way to talk to your business partner, now is it?"

"The credits?" Hans asked impatiently.

"Never had a sense of humor did you," Mauler shook his head. "Here, fifteen large, just as you asked."

He gestured his hand to one of his cronies, who reached into a pocket and produced a small credit chit which he handed over. Mauler held out the chit in his hand towards Hans.

Hans turned to one of his bodyguards and cocked his head. "Go," he ordered.

"Come on!" Mauler chuckled as the android approached him and took the chit from his hands. "What? You still don't trust me _amigo_?"

The android returned to Hans, then held out the chip to him.

After Hans took it, he inspected it closely then tucked it in his pocket. "Good," he muttered.

"You've got your credits," Mauler stated. "Now, the hardware?"

"Show it to him," Hans said without taking his eyes off Mauler.

Immediately, the same bodyguard returned to the skycar then entered it to retrieve a small crate, where it was then picked up and brought over to Mauler. The bodyguard unclasped the buckles and held it open, but since he was facing away from Anna she could not make out what it's contents were.

Mauler drew in a long breath and whistled his impression. "This is some top-of-the-line, primo shit, now ain't it?" he asked as he reached in and picked up some kind of weapon.

"It's a prototype, hasn't even hit the markets yet," Hans explained casually. "Type-27 directed energy rifle. It shoots bolts of superheated ionized plasma and it'll turn whatever it's aiming at into a pile of slag."

"Ho ho man _,_ ArmaRex always cooks up the most devious shit!" Mauler grinned as he appraised the weapon and held it in his hands.

"Go on, give it a try," Hans said as he backed up a few steps, pointing to a nearby stack of barrels as he did.

"Alright," Mauler said as he took aim and began fiddling with the weapon. "Damn, how do you work this thing?"

Seconds later, a bright blue bolt of energy shot out from the barrel and flew straight into the pile of barrels which exploded in a huge fireball. Mauler and his gangers flinched from the sudden shock wave, while Hans and his bodyguards looked on unimpressed.

Hans crossed his arms and tilted his chin upwards. "So, what do you think?" he asked.

Mauler recovered then looked down at the deadly instrument in his hands in awe. "I think… that I'm gonna need a couple more of these man," he chuckled.

"Done," Hans uncrossed his arms and held it out for Mauler to shake. "It'll take some time to offload a few more of these from the factory, but once I get my hands on them I'll contact you, deal?"

"Deal," Mauler grinned and nodded approvingly.

He set the plasma rifle back in its case then snapped it shut. Then, Mauler tossed the crate to one of his cronies after which he shook hands with Hans.

With their business concluded, Hans then turned around and went back inside his skycar while his bodyguards piled in after him. Seconds later, they were up in the air again and flying away while Mauler and his men departed from the stock exchange rooftop.

Once they were all gone, Anna waited a little while longer to review the intel she had just discovered, then climbed into her skycar and began making her way back into the city.

… … …

She made it about halfway home before the holo-display of her dashboard lit up with a familiar face.

"What have you got?" her client asked brusquely.

"Your boy is running guns to gangers operating out of the flood zone," Anna replied, then sent him the video footage of the meeting via her omni-pad. "Here, see for yourself."

Her client frowned in thought as he pulled up the recording. "Hmm, I can use this," he muttered.

"Do whatever the hell you want with it. The less I know, the better," Anna replied.

"Damn right," the client nodded, then transferred Anna a sum of credits. "Your payment, as agreed."

Anna frowned when she received the notification that her account had increased by 2,500 credits. "What? Twenty five hundred? I had to tail this guy into the flood zone, I deserve double," she argued.

"Twenty five hundred as we agreed. Take it or leave it."

"Five thousand. Or I can turn you over to this Hans guy and he probably won't be too happy about you trying to steal his job."

The client narrowed his brows in anger. "Listen you dumb bitch, I'm not the kind of man you wanna piss-"

"Five thousand," Anna repeated firmly, cutting him off. "Or you'll have an andy death squad with no compunction about being impolite knocking down your door."

"Fine," the client growled. "Take it and get lost."

Anna's omni-pad lit up with another notification of an additional 2,500 credits received. "With pleasure," she grinned and then cut off the connection.

Having successfully negotiated double her payment, Anna was in a good mood as she flew the rest of the way back to her apartment. While violence was certainly the most effective way to get ahead in New York, knowledge was equally if not more valuable when it came to exercising power. Her line of work enabled her to be privy to some of New York's darkest secrets and since information was her business, she knew how to use it effectively.

Anna generally had no reason to fear the threats of violence that were levelled against her, because she could just as quickly turn her client's secret over to her marks and disappear before either party had a chance to track her down. Additionally, she operated under several different aliases and sometimes she might not have even given one at all, if she decided it was safer to avoid names. In any event, her line of work always kept her busy as there was always someone in the city looking to get ahead by exposing someone else's dirty laundry.

As her apartment block came into view, Anna pulled into the side of the building to park her skycar, then made her way up to her apartment. She walked over to a dingy elevator, then swept her hand on the display until she found her floor and tapped on it. Moments later, the elevator stuttered and groaned before ascending upwards.

Anna leaned back against the wall and kept her eyes focused on the elevator doors. At some point, a tenant had scratched into the dull metal the phrase 'no future,' which gave her some thought. Soon enough, the elevator dinged and the doors opened, snapping Anna out of her mind as she made her way down the corridor to her home. She overheard two people arguing over something she couldn't make out which was then followed by a crash of glass and a heavy thud. Whatever it was, it wasn't Anna's problem and she continued along until she reached her apartment door where she placed her hand on the biometric lock.

She sighed heavily after she stepped inside and wiped her boots on the rug before entering her kitchen. Her apartment was small, cramped and a bit messy. Empty bottles of whiskey littered the floor while takeout boxes were piled up in the trash can. It was a two bedroom and two bath apartment that once upon a time could have been a home for her and Nora, if she was still alive. The apartment consisted of a kitchen and living room, that was connected to her bedroom and en suite bathroom. Anna lived alone and with the extra space afforded by the spare bedroom, she had converted it into her office and armory.

Overcome by the sudden wave of bitter grief, Anna turned towards her liquor cabinet where she opened it to search for something to take the edge off and found it empty. She then opened her fridge and found it empty as well, save for a half eaten box of Chinese takeout and a stack of sustenance paste rations that she had received many years ago when a brief famine struck New York. Even now, they were still fit to consume, though when Anna first tried them they were awful. She had been saving them for only when she was truly desperate and hungry, but even then she might still prefer to starve to death.

"Shit, of course," Anna muttered. "Out of booze and I need to go grocery shopping."

Anna sighed again, then reached for the takeout box. She stood as she wolfed it down with a pair of chopsticks and then set the empty box aside. She was still thirsty, but tired and late as it was, Anna decided that she would head out tomorrow to restock her fridge. In the meantime, she strode out of her kitchen and shrugged off her long-coat before setting it on the couch. Afterward, she went into her bedroom and began to strip out of her clothing then once she was naked, she slipped inside her bathroom to start the shower.

As she waited for the water to warm up, Anna examined her reflection in her mirror. She was twenty five now, the same age that Nora would be. Her skin was pale and she was still a bit skinny but Anna didn't exactly gorge herself every day. Her body bore some scars from the hard life she had, providing a map of every wound she once sustained.

On her left side just above her hip was an old scar from a stabbing she had received in a street fight when she was a child. If Nora hadn't been there that day, Anna would have bled to death in the gutter. On the outside of her right thigh was the remains of an angry plasma burn mark she had suffered from a scattergun fired at her by a ganger. If K hadn't patched her up, she might have died from an infection. On her right shoulder above the collar bone was a small and round scar left from a flechette that had been embedded there. That one had hurt more than anything else and sometimes Anna wishes she also could have died that day. At least that way, she wouldn't have been left alone.

Once the bathroom started to steam up and the mirror began to fog, Anna stepped in and bowed her head to let the warm water cascade down her body. Hot as the water was, her tears were even hotter as they mingled with the water and fell down the drain.

… … …

The next morning, Anna awoke from her restless sleep and got dressed for the day in a clean pullover, jeans, her boots, and her usual long-coat. She made her way down to the streets and over to the nearby bodega, passing by another alleyway full of gangers who leered at her. She paid them no mind and thankfully they didn't harass her today. Anna was in no mood for nonsense when she was sober.

It had stopped raining some time during the night, leaving the morning relatively crisp and bright as the rarely seen sun desperately struggled to pierce through the veil of clouds overhead. As Anna ascended a staircase up to a walkway, she turned a corner and found herself in the marketplace. At this time of day, merchants were just beginning to set up their stalls for the day while police officers roamed the streets. Anna knew better than to pay them any attention, as the police force was owned by ArmaRex and they were more likely to shoot someone rather than actually help them.

Anna deftly picked her way through the crowd, keeping her head low with her hands in her pockets until she reached the opposite side of the marketplace where the bodega was. The storefront bore signs that were in Cyrillic and Mandarin, but Anna was familiar with the store well enough.

As she entered, a kind old woman at the counter greeted her. "Ah, hello Rachael!" she said.

Rachael Deckard was Anna's other alias, one that her apartment was listed under. When she first came to New York, she was undocumented and didn't exist in any information database. She preferred to keep it that way.

"Hey Ren," Anna returned greeting sincerely. "How are you? How's Mister Zhao?"

"Oh I am fine," Ren smiled which quickly morphed into a sad look. "But he is still sick with carbon fever."

Anna's eyes widened in concern. "Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that. Is he getting better?" she asked.

Ren shook her head glumly. "N- no… we cannot afford the medicine he needs, PharmaCorp prices are too high," she said.

Anna nodded her head in understanding. Carbon fever was a sickness that emerged shortly before the resource wars and was contracted by breathing in the toxic smog and pollution in the air. It was especially deadly to older people, not that many lived to an old age in 2099 anyways.

"But do not let me trouble you," Ren said as she waved away Anna's concern.

Without another word, Anna turned away from the counter and picked up a small shopping basket before going over to the aisle that held the liquor. There, she pulled down two bottles of whiskey and then afterwards, she then went over to the refrigerated aisle to where she picked up a carton of cloned chicken eggs and a packet of synth-bacon. Afterward, Anna strolled up and down the aisles, picking up a pack of shelf-stable, dehydrated bread, a small case of clean drinking water, and a few assorted foodstuffs kept in plastic packaging. She had walked to the bodega so she limited her purchase to what she could carry alone. Living by herself had its advantages, one of which being that Anna only ever had to shop for herself.

As massively overpopulated and swollen with people as New York was, the food situation and availability of it wasn't often a problem. The devastation of all remaining arable farmland across the United States brought on by the collapse necessitated new modes of food production from alternative sources. Real fruits, vegetables, and grains were grown and harvested en masse inside of large hydroponic farms that were stored underground away from the noxious air. However, they were quite expensive. As for meats as well as other proteins, many species of common livestock had been rendered nearly extinct, thereby forcing science to turn to laboratory grown synth meat and cloning animals to support the human population.

Additionally, other more exotic sources of protein relied upon farming insects like locusts, ants, and beetles given the rarity of actual meat from other animals and the scarcity of other viable food alternatives. After the initial public revulsion, insect protein supplements became a rather common ingredient in most forms of food. One simply had to look closer at the ingredients to see what they were really eating, but then again, ignorance was bliss.

Once she finished her shopping, Anna returned to the counter where she set her items on the conveyor belt. "Say, Ren. How much is it anyways for the medicine that Mister Zhao needs?" she asked idly.

"Oh, I do not know," Ren replied as she rang up Anna's purchases. "About… twelve hundred credits I think?"

Anna nodded once again and then made a decision. _It's what Nora would have done,_ she thought.

"Alright, this is for my stuff and I'm tossing in another twenty four hundred on top," Anna said as she transferred the credits over to Ren in addition to her payment for her groceries. "You can use that to buy the medicine that Mister Zhao needs."

Ren gasped and her eyes widened, waving her hands through the air dismissively. "Oh, Rachael… I cannot accept-"

"Please, it would- it's the least I can do," Anna cut her off and waved away her protests. "Besides, I got an advance payment anyways, so just… take it and get him the stuff he needs."

Ren hesitated for another moment before she leaned forward and grasped one of Anna's with both of her own, nodding up and down gratefully. "Thank you… Rachael, thank you!" she said with tears in her eyes. "I will get his medicine, thank you!"

"Don't thank me," Anna said as she shook her head. "And don't worry about paying me back either, I don't… I don't need the credits."

"Thank you," Ren repeated once again, and wiped a few happy tears from her eyes before bagging Anna's purchase.

"I said don't thank me," Anna repeated a little more firmly but not unkindly. "Stay safe, Ren, okay?"

With that, she left before Ren could thank her again. Anna stepped out of the bodega with her purchase in hand and started walking across the marketplace to make her way home. She made it all of five steps when she suddenly stopped by an android who barred her path.

"Excuse me, are you Miss Veronica Tyrell?" the android asked.

Anna immediately tried to brush past it. "No, you got the wrong person. Now get out of my way," she said.

The android persisted, and laid a hand firmly on Anna's shoulder as it regarded her with it's bright eyes. "Miss Rosenthal requests the pleasure of your company. Will you comply?"

 _Rosenthal… Matilda Rosenthal?_ Anna thought to herself. _What the hell does the CEO of VanirCorp want with me?_

"Look, I'm telling you, I'm not-" Anna started, but was then interrupted when she heard two more androids step up behind her armed with flechette rifles. "Oh, come the fuck on," she turned around and scoffed at her new predicament, boxed in by the things she hated most. "Look, whatever this is, I'm just trying to get by here so could you-"

"Miss Rosenthal requests the pleasure of your company," the android in front of her repeated. "Will you comply?"

People were beginning to notice the scene, and ahead Anna caught sight of two police officers as they glanced over. After another moment, they shrugged and returned to their rounds.

"Christ, this is just great," Anna muttered under her breath and scowled. "Do I really have a choice?" she glanced around once more at the two armed androids behind her then turned to face the one in front of her.

"Please, come with us."

With nothing else that she could do, Anna allowed the android in front of her to lead her out of the marketplace towards a side street where a skycar was waiting. Once there, the android leading her turned to face once more and held out its hand.

"Your firearms, please."

"I don't-"

Behind her, Anna heard the sound of a flechette rifle being readied and she turned to stare down the barrel of one being pointed at her face. "Alright, alright…" she muttered as she withdrew her hand cannon and relinquished it.

The android accepted it, then reached over and took Anna's groceries from her hands.

"Hey-!"

"Thank you for your cooperation, miss. Your belongings will be returned to you after your meeting with Miss Rosenthal."

Afterwards, Anna was packed into the skycar where she sat flanked on either side by the two armed androids with the other sitting directly in front of her. As they took off and flew through the air towards VanirCorp, Anna scowled and turned her gaze towards her feet. She had to admit that she was more than a little curious as well as confused as to why Matilda Rosenthal wanted to speak to her so badly.

"So…" Anna started. "Care to tell me what all this is about?"

"Miss Rosenthal thought it prudent that the details of your meeting remain confidential. The purpose of your meeting will become known to you shortly," the android in front of her replied.

"That's perfect," Anna muttered and shook her head. "That's not ominous at all," she leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms.

The rest of the way was spent in tense silence. Anna had just about had it with these androids and moreover she was frustrated at the mysterious nature of this abrupt summoning by Matilda Rosenthal. She had never once encountered the CEO of VanirCorp in her life, nor had Anna ever been asked to conduct an investigation into her. Some people were simply too powerful and too far beyond Anna's reach and Matilda Rosenthal was one of them. In any event, Anna took a meager amount of comfort in the fact that she had no reason to believe that she had done anything to attract the ire of the most powerful woman in New York.

A little while later, the gleaming tower of VanirCorp headquarters came into view.

Megacorporations often flaunted their wealth and status, but the building that stood before Anna now was a beacon of opulence and an ignorant display of limitless ego. VanirCorp headquarters was the tallest superstructure in all of New York and the whole thing was an eyesore to many.

They touched down upon the rooftop, where Anna was led out and down into the massive building. After progressing through a series of side passages, she was eventually brought into a wide hallway where the remains of a redwood tree lay. Anna marvelled at her surroundings; everything was so clean, orderly, and precise. Never before had she ever seen a tree that large and in fact, she could hardly remember if she had ever seen a tree in her life at all, at least one that wasn't dead that is.

At the end lay a tall set of double doors which she was being led towards. Another two androids stood guard there, who opened the doors for Anna and her guides when they approached. As she entered, Anna found herself in a massive apartment.

Directly in front of her by a tall plate glass window was a fainting chair and a sofa with a coffee table that lay between them. To the side was a large desk and terminal. Further to her left was a long dining table and a kitchen. Ahead to her right was a spiral staircase that ascended to a loft where Anna surmised that a bedroom was. The décor was restrained and elegant, a stark contrast to the ostentatious facade that VanirCorp put up.

Sitting at the fainting chair was an elegantly dressed woman with stark white hair sipping some kind of hot liquid from a dainty looking cup and saucer. Anna guessed that this was Matilda Rosenthal and paused a short distance away.

Matilda blew a little steam from her drink and then took a careful sip before setting it back on the saucer and placing it on the coffee table. She looked up at Anna then and a polite smile spread across her face. In return, Anna simply froze like a deer in the headlights.

"That will be all Kai, you may go," Matilda said as she waved off the androids.

"Yes, ma'am," the android called Kai dipped his head politely then left them to their meeting.

He was then followed by Anna's escort of guards, and soon, they were alone.

Anna stood a little awkwardly - unsure of how to behave herself in such a setting - so she gazed around the apartment in wonder. It was definitely larger than Anna's own and she found herself wondering if this was what Nora pictured when she envisioned their new life together.

"Well don't just stand there gawking about like a lost little girl!" Matilda called out. "Come, come, have a seat."

"O- okay," Anna mumbled and made her way over to Matilda where she sat directly across from her on the easy chair.

"Tea?" Matilda asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Would you like some tea?" Matilda asked again, gesturing towards the steaming liquid sitting inside a pot with a spout and handle.

 _Tea? Real tea and not that fake stuff filled with plastic?_ Anna wondered. _I guess it couldn't hurt to try._

"Um, yes, err… please," Anna smiled thinly.

Matilda nodded and poured the dark, steaming liquid into another tiny cup and then gently slid it over.

"Thank you," Anna said, then observed as Matilda held the saucer in one hand and the teacup in her other as she took another sip.

She mimicked the same movement, then held the cup to her mouth and took a tentative sip. The liquid was slightly bitter and acrid, but not altogether unpleasant. Anna took another gentle sip and the taste of the tea had already become more palatable.

"So, I imagine that you're wondering why I brought you here today," Matilda started. "I hope you were treated well?"

"Well, I was happily minding my own business when your andys accosted me in the middle of a marketplace."

Matilda smirked. "Standard procedure, I assure you. Until now, you have been something of an unknown variable and we simply needed to take the necessary precautions."

"Ah," Anna nodded. "You- you know me?"

"We know _of_ you, Miss Tyrell," Matilda took another sip of her tea while keeping her eyes on Anna. "My contacts inform me that you are rather… efficient at what you do.

Anna released a tiny sigh of relief for the fact that her true identity remained safe. "Uh huh," she nodded as she prompted Matilda to continue.

"I will be blunt. I require your services and I am willing to pay you very handsomely for your efforts."

"You need me to dig up dirt on someone, is that it?"

"No, nothing like that. I need you to find someone who has gone missing," Rosenthal said as her countenance hardened into a more serious look.

Anna set her teacup and saucer down then leaned back on the sofa. "Isn't that a job for the police?" she asked. "Besides, finding missing persons isn't exactly my area of expertise."

"It's my daughter," Matilda said as she regarded Anna with a hard look. "She has gone missing, and the sensitive nature of this issue means that I cannot go to the police."

"Why is that?"

"Elsa isn't like many other people. She's enhanced you see."

"She's a metalhead? A chromedome?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Err, she, uh, she has implants?"

Matilda sensed Anna's meaning and regarded her with a detached look. "In a manner of speaking, yes," she said. "You must understand, she… she is very valuable to me and if something were to happen to her…"

Anna nodded in understanding. "And you're sure you can't go to the police? Or couldn't you send one of your andys to go and find her?" she asked.

"No, I'm afraid not. She has this sensitive condition and I worry that sending a police force or a squad of androids would only complicate matters further than they already are. We already dispatched a team of androids to find her, but they ran afoul of some trouble in the city." Matilda set down her teacup and saucer. "I need this to be handled more quietly and discreetly."

Anna considered this information for a moment and hesitated before answering. The whole thing stunk of shady corporate dealings that she wanted no part of. On the other hand, a missing girl tugged on Anna's heartstrings in a way she couldn't ignore. Nora was also missing in a certain manner. Anna knew she had died, she had watched it happen. However, her corpse could not be recovered by Anna and therefore the grave site she visited every single year outside of city walls was actually empty. She never knew what became of Nora's body.

"I don't know," Anna began. "I still think-"

"I'm willing to pay you a sum of two-and-a-half million credits," Matilda stated firmly. "Five hundred thousand as a retainer fee and the rest upon Elsa's safe return. Along with a considerable bonus, if you can retrieve her sooner. I would like this matter to be resolved as quickly as possible and that should be enough motivation for you, no?"

 _Two-and-a-half million?_ Anna thought. _And a bonus?!_ _With that amount of scratch I can finally get off this planet and move to the moon, or Mars. I could finally get away from this hellhole._

"That is… a very generous offer, err, Miss Rosenthal," Anna said.

Matilda nodded. "For my daughter, I would pay any price."

"Okay," Anna leaned forward "So what can you tell me about Elsa?"

"Well, she should be around your age. She's exceptionally smart and she could be quite dangerous if she feels threatened."

"Dangerous? Because of her… implants?"

"Yes," Matilda replied stiffly.

"Alright, what else? What does she look like?"

Matilda stood up and walked a short distance away to her large desk where she retrieved a framed photograph. Another antiquity from a bygone age that she held in her hands as she returned.

"Here she is, my Elea-" Matilda stopped and cleared her throat. "My Elsa," she finished.

Anna caught the temporary slip, but thought nothing more of it as she took hold of the photograph and examined it closer. When she did, her breath caught in her throat and her entire body stiffened. The woman in the photo was seated upon a chair with her hands folded in her lap and looked almost exactly like Nora, or what Nora would have looked like had she reached Anna's age.

Elsa's eyes were strikingly blue, almost the same shade as Nora's but her hair was white where Nora's was brown. It was as if she were staring directly into a mirror and when Anna looked up, she saw that Matilda was regarding her with a faraway look in her eyes.

 _No, no, it can't be,_ Anna thought. _Nora is dead, she's been dead a long time. And her hair was brown, not white…_

Anna swallowed a lump in her throat. "She's… um, she's very pretty," she said.

"Yes, much like yourself," Matilda noted as her eyes glazed over. "Forgive me, I… I lost myself for a moment there," she shook her head and returned to her normal demeanor.

"It's alright," Anna smiled thinly and took another long look at the photograph before handing it back. "So, when did Elsa go missing?" she asked, eager to move on with their conversation.

"Just last night," Matilda replied as she snapped back to focus. "There was some sort of blackout that occurred around midnight and when we got the power back on, Elsa had disappeared."

"And you don't think that Elsa just went out for a stroll?"

"No. Elsa has never stepped foot outside this building before because of her condition. She was kept here for her safety, you see."

Anna cocked her head curiously. "What sort of condition does Elsa have?" she asked.

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss it. Let us just say that she is unique and unlike any other person living today."

"Okay… so she's special. Do you think she could have been kidnapped?" Anna asked, skirting past the vague answer she was given.

Matilda shook her head adamantly. "No, I don't believe so. Elsa surely would have resisted such an attempt and easily overcome it. No, I believe that she left of her own directive," she said.

Anna looked up. "Directive? You speak as if she's an andy or a robot," she noted.

"Oh, did I say directive?" Matilda chuckled. "I apologize. After all, our business here at VanirCorp is dealing in androids."

"Right," Anna nodded her head, sensing that Matilda was evading something. "So if she left on her own, couldn't you contact her somehow?"

"We've tried, but she won't respond to our calls," Matilda said.

"Any idea where she could have gone then?" Anna asked.

"Her last known whereabouts placed her in Greenwich Village where she must have removed her tracking beacon."

Anna squinted at Matilda in confusion. "Tracking- wait, tracking beacon? You put a tracking beacon on your daughter?" she asked.

Matilda's features hardened and her brows narrowed. "As I've said. Elsa has a very sensitive condition. Her safety is of utmost importance to me, is that clear?" she asked in a venomous tone.

Anna plastered on a fake smile. "Crystal," she said. "But have you considered that maybe Elsa doesn't want to come back?"

" _Excuse_ me?" Matilda immediately bristled.

"Just checking off the boxes, Miss Rosenthal," Anna said. "You say that she wasn't kidnapped but left on her own. She isn't answering your calls and she removed a tracking beacon that you put on her. I mean, that to me definitely seems like someone who doesn't want to be found."

Matilda straightened up. "I don't care for your tone, young lady," she said in a motherly voice that was laced with cool anger. "Find my property and return her to me, is that clear?"

"Property?" Anna asked delicately. "I thought she was your daughter?"

Matilda seemed to collect herself somewhat as she loosened up. "Yes… well, all daughters are the property of their mothers, are they not?"

"I guess I wouldn't know," Anna shrugged. "My mom died after I was born and I never met her."

"Then I am sorry for your loss," Matilda replied flatly. "Find Elsa, bring her home to me safe and sound," she reiterated in a tone that brokered no further argument, then turned towards the door. "Kai!"

Immediately, they opened and the familiar android stepped in with his arms clasped politely behind his back. "Yes, ma'am?" he asked.

"Show Miss Tyrell the way out," Matilda ordered.

"Yes, ma'am," Kai nodded.

"I will be expecting fast results, Miss Tyrell," Matilda said coolly.

Anna rose and made her way to the door before turning to face Matilda. "I'll do my best," she said.

Meanwhile, Matilda took another sip of her tea and addressed Anna without looking up. "See that you do."


	5. American Dreams

* * *

Nora awoke first from her sleep, turning over to place a hand on Anna's shoulder to reassure that she had not vanished in the middle of the night. Even if she didn't do that, Nora would have been assured of Anna's presence by the sheer volume with which her sister was snoring with now. Nora grinned at that, which soon widened into a dimpled and crooked smile at the realization of that the day was.

It was their twelfth birthday.

The pair had been sleeping rough in an abandoned warehouse for a few weeks now, hidden away in an old shipping container that provided ample concealment from any other vagrants. From their temporary home in a run-down industrial park in Los Angeles, Nora and Anna had managed to get through the last year by running odd jobs for a local gang that controlled the area called the Steel Serpents.

Their work mostly entailed pick-ups or deliveries of goods that the Steel Serpents smuggled whether they be illegally produced cybernetics, contraband netware, or narcotics such as black ice. The last of which was a highly addictive drug that was ingested through a puffer and was a powerful hallucinogenic. The leader of the Steel Serpents was a large man named Oak who always treated Nora and Anna fairly and ensured that they were not harassed by the gang. It wasn't honest nor good work, but it allowed Anna and Nora to eventually earn enough credits to secure passage to New York

Nora let her hand rest on Anna's shoulder a little while longer, feeling the soft rise and fall of her breathing as she blinked away her sleep. She looked over and gazed at Anna's face as she slept. No matter where or on what surface, Anna had always had the remarkable ability to fall fast asleep, which Nora admired. Anna was a messy sleeper though, and her dirty red hair was frazzled in every direction with a few errant locks lying across Nora's face. She smiled gently as she removed them, then brushed them behind Anna's ear as she shifted in her sleep peacefully.

Nora let Anna enjoy her rest a little while longer, but soon enough they would have to go. Today was the day that they were finally moving to New York.

As she gently rose so as not to disturb Anna, Nora quietly set out about making their breakfast. She reached into a duffle bag of their belongings and withdrew two cups of instant ramen, then unscrewed their tops to fill them with a little bit of water from their canteen that they kept. Next, she fastened the tops back on then set them on the floor before pulling on the rip cords at the bottom of each cup to cook the ramen.

A small puff of steam escaped from each one and Nora removed the lids to waft some the scent of the cooked noodles towards her nose. With her stomach starting to growl, Nora carefully set aside their breakfast then crept over to Anna who remained sleeping.

"Anna," Nora whispered while gently nudging her. "Anna, wake up."

"Hmm… Ineedanew… fluxcapacitor," Anna muttered as she rolled over to her other side.

Nora giggled at Anna's nonsensical ramblings which almost never made any sense. "Anna, come on. We're gonna miss our ship, wake up!" she leaned over to wake her sister by poking her on the forehead.

"S'okay," Anna mumbled as she batted away Nora's hand. "Catchthenextone."

Nora leaned back and blew a tuft of her brown hair away from her forehead. Meanwhile, Anna snored rather loudly and indiscriminately.

An idea came to Nora then and she grinned in anticipation. "Aaaaanna…" she said as she reached beneath their tattered blanket and started to tickle her sides. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

Anna shot up from her sleep and immediately fell into a fit of hysterical laughter as she rolled around to avoid Nora's hand. "Ah! Okay, okay!" she giggled. "I'm up! Sto- stop it! I'm up!"

"I don't think so, you still look asleep to me!" Nora laughed as she continued to relentlessly tickle her sister.

"No- Nora, stop it! I'm up! Stop- I can't-" Anna said between breathless giggles.

"Alright," Nora said, finally allowing Anna to catch her breath. "Come on, we need to go soon!"

Anna continued to giggle as she rubbed the last of her sleep from her eyes and smoothed out her hair before peeking over to the side behind Nora. "You made breakfast?" she asked.

"Of course. It's the last of the ramen, but since it's your favorite and since today is a special day…" Nora said as she happily grinned. "Happy birthday, Anna!"

Anna frowned and looked confused. "Is that today?"

"Yes it is, silly!"

"Oh," Anna beamed then she leaned forward and pulled Nora into a tight hug. "Happy birthday, sis."

Nora smiled and leaned further into Anna's embrace. Then, they got on with their day as they tucked into their food.

They spent the next few minutes in silence as they ate their breakfast that was washed down with a little bit more of their water. Anna finished hers first, wolfing it down with ravenous hunger then tossed the empty cup to the opposite end of the shipping container. Normally, Nora would have protested littering inside their living space, but since today would be their last day there, she found that she didn't mind.

Anna burped loudly then covered her mouth sheepishly. "Heh, that was gross. Sorry," she said.

Nora smirked then straightened up as she burped even longer and more loudly, causing Anna to fall into hysterics once more.

"Nora!" Anna said. "What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with _you_?" Nora shot back.

"Nuh uh, I asked you first!"

"You started it!"

They both froze then with their mouths hanging open as they thought of what to say next. Instead, they fell into fits of laughter once more until Anna's stomach loudly growled.

"Ugh. Stupid stomach," Anna grumbled and looked down. "I just fed you."

Meanwhile, Nora frowned and looked into the remainder of her noodles in her cup, finding that there wasn't much left. "Here," she offered it to Anna since she thought she could use it. "You can have the rest of mine."

Anna glanced up. "What? No, you need to eat as well," she protested.

"It's okay," Nora shrugged. "I'm not that hungry anyways."

"Well, ar- are you sure?"

Nora smiled warmly and placed the cup into Anna's hands. "Yeah, besides… it's your favorite," she said.

Anna smiled brightly then eagerly dug into the remaining noodles. "Tankyoo," she mumbled through a mouthful.

When Anna picked up the last bunch of noodles with her chopsticks, she frowned and then held it out to Nora.

Nora simply rolled her eyes, then accepted the last bite as she allowed Anna to feed her. With their breakfast finished, they quietly packed the rest of the meager belongings then crept out of the shipping container into the early morning light. They hadn't packed many things, not that they owned many things to begin with. Between the both of them, they had a few sets of extra clothing and their most valuable possession which was the head of a single yellow chrysanthemum flower preserved in a small glass jar.

It had belonged to their mother, who Nora and Anna never met. The beautiful flower was incredibly precious to them both, serving as their only connection to a woman they had never known and a world that once existed. Neither of them could picture a world that wasn't gray, dead, and rotten so the single chrysanthemum flower filled them with a delicate sort of hope for a different world and a different life. It may have been a foolish thing to hope for, but it gave them a small amount of comfort.

Once all their belongings were squared away, the pair made their way out of the abandoned warehouse by climbing out a nearby window where they found themselves standing upon a lower section of the roof. The city that had been their home stood before them and together, Nora and Anna took one last look at the place they would leave behind forever.

"So," Nora asked as she turned to Anna. "Ready to go see the big city?"

Anna turned to Nora to grin brightly, then wrapped her hand around her sister's. "Ready."

… … …

After making their way out of the industrial park, Nora and Anna worked their way deeper into the city. Warehouses, factories, and empty lots gradually gave way to housing complexes, apartment blocks, and bustling streets. They passed by a few Steel Serpent gangers lounging around a corner who nodded politely to Nora and Anna as they passed by.

The day was just beginning and already the heat was sweltering. Nora and Anna deftly navigated through the crowds as they proceeded on foot towards the transit hub, where their shuttle would be waiting to take them to New York. Travelling across the former United States was a difficult task, as the wastelands were filled with hostile nomadic tribes and marauding warlords. As such, travelling via ship was considerably safer as the airways were patrolled by corporate security forces, though it was also much more expensive.

After working for Oak for nearly a year, they had acquired enough credits to secure passage as well as their own forged documents. The kind gang leader understood Nora and Anna's position better than most and he gladly allowed the two to work for him until they could depart from Los Angeles. Now at twelve years of age, Nora and Anna were finally realizing their dream of moving to a better place.

Once they passed through a busy square, the transit hub came into view not far ahead. The central terminal was already buzzing with air traffic as skycars, shuttles, and colony ships skimmed through the air. All around them, people were milling about as they boarded their transports or waited in line around the terminal. Android security guards were patrolling the area in pairs, keeping a watchful eye on all pedestrian traffic as they passed through.

"Come on, Nora!" Anna said excitedly as she grabbed her sister by the hand and started pulling her along. "I think I can see our ship!"

Nora rolled her eyes just before she was yanked further along. Tried as she might to pretend to be annoyed by Anna's giddy enthusiasm, she found that it was always infectious and soon she found herself practically running alongside her sister towards the terminal ahead of them.

"Anna, slow down!" Nora cautioned as she kept pace with Anna. "Be careful, there's a lot of-"

"I'm always careful!" Anna grinned as she turned back to face Nora. "Now come on, I wanna- oof!"

Contrary to what she had just said, Anna hadn't actually been watching where she was going when she bumped into the back of an android security guard. The synthetic being with an impassive male face immediately rounded on her, pointing his weapon.

"Please keep your distance, citizen," the android said.

Anna stumbled back and fell on her rear, backing away nervously from the android that towered over her. She began to stutter over her words as she fumbled for a response, but nothing coherent came out.

"Sorry! We're sorry," Nora stepped in immediately, standing between Anna and the android as she held her arms out protectively. "We were just in a rush, that's all. I- it won't happen again."

The android seemed to relax, then returned his weapon to an idle position as he nodded. "Carry on, citizen," he said before turning and walking away.

Nora kept her gaze on the android until he was gone, then turned around and extended her hand out to Anna who remained on the floor. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Anna grumbled as she accepted Nora's hand and rose to her feet. "Stupid andys."

"Let's just go, Anna," Nora smiled encouragingly then took Anna's hand once more.

Anna nodded then allowed a bashful smile to spread across her face as she fell into step beside Nora.

Together, they made their way into the terminal at a more reasonable pace, making sure to keep their distance from any other android security guards who crossed their path. Once they entered the terminal, they looked around until they found an information board displaying the flight schedule which listed all of the departures and arrivals for that morning.

"Let's see here," Nora muttered as she tapped her chin as she scanned the schedule up and down. "Ah! There it is, the SovAir at 11:30." she located their flight and pointed it out.

"We better get in line then," Anna murmured as she examined her surroundings and located the correct gate for their shuttle. "Looks like we aren't the only ones moving to New York today," she said as she examined the length of the line that had already formed.

"Yeah," Nora agreed. "You got everything, right?"

"Uh huh!" Anna nodded eagerly. "I'm pretty sure."

"Alright then, let's get in line."

Nora and Anna walked over to the end of the line, where they then set their duffel bag down and took a quick peek to ensure that they had everything. Their clothes and chrysanthemum flower remained right where they had left them then with nothing else to do but wait, Nora and Anna sat on top of it while the line inched forward.

"So what do you think it'll be like?" Anna asked after she bored herself by picking at a piece of fabric of her worn shoes.

"Hmm," Nora sighed dreamily. "Clean. I hope it'll be clean."

Anna chuckled and laid her head against Nora's shoulder. "Yeah, me too," she said.

As they sat, they occasionally shifted along as the line of people moved ahead and they neared the check-in gate. Behind them, the line grew longer but neither of the sisters took much notice until Nora spotted a young boy shuffling into place at the end of the line.

He appeared to be alone and looked like he was a few years younger then Nora and Anna. The boy glanced around nervously and fidgeted with a thread of his raggy clothing.

"Do you think he's alone?" Nora asked as her curiosity was piqued.

Anna turned over to face Nora. "Do I think who's alone?" she asked.

"Him," Nora stated, then pointed out the young boy by himself. "Over there at the end of the line."

"Huh. I guess he is."

"He looks scared."

"I… guess he is."

"Do you think… we should check on him?"

Anna turned away from the boy and faced Nora. "What?" she asked.

"He's alone! Maybe he needs help," Nora replied.

"Everyone around here probably needs help with something," Anna countered. "What are we supposed to even do?"

Nora shrugged. "I- I don't know, I just think-"

"Next, please," the android manning the gate called them forward.

"That's us, Nora," Anna said as she stood up and pulled Nora to her feet. "Come on, forget about him."

"Maybe we can-"

"Next, please," the android repeated.

"Come _on_ ," Anna repeated, impatiently tugging Nora along.

Nora tore her gaze away from the young boy reluctantly, then turned to face the android as she stood alongside Anna.

"Your documents, please," the android asked.

Nora glanced over her shoulder again then snapped back to focus when Anna nudged her by the elbow. She cocked her head towards the android, who was waiting to validate their travel documents.

"Oh, sorry," Nora muttered. "Here you go," she raised her left forearm and called up the documents on her omni-pad for the android to scan.

A few moments of tense silence passed by as the android appraised the documents while Nora and Anna fidgeted nervously. Oak had assured them that the forged documents they were given would allow them to travel to New York as independent minors and now was the time to see if he was right. After another few seconds, the android finished scanning them then opened the gate for Nora and Anna to pass through.

"Thank you for your cooperation. Please proceed to landing pad twenty four. Safe travels," the android said.

Nora and Anna both released a shaky breath then picked up their bag before heading through to the terminal beyond. As they walked along, Nora glanced over her shoulder once more but could not locate the young boy. Meanwhile, Anna had begun to chatter excitedly as she entertained different possibilities for their new life.

"What do you think?" Anna asked.

Nora was snapped out of her thoughts and hadn't even realized Anna was talking while she was searching for the boy. "About what?" she asked.

"Our apartment!" Anna said. "Do you think we can get a servant? I mean, all those rich corpos probably have servants right?"

"Yeah, definitely," Nora chuckled. "So... we're finally doing this."

"Yeah," Anna smiled. "I- I'm… I'm a little nervous."

"That's okay. I am too," Nora said.

"But we'll always stick together, right?" Anna asked with a delicate look on her face so fragile that it tugged on Nora's heartstrings.

"Of course," Nora smiled then leaned over and kissed her sister on the cheek. "We'll always stick together, no matter what."

Anna giggled from the contact. "Forever?" she asked.

"Forever and ever," Nora said, then gave Anna her iconic crooked grin that accentuated the single dimple on her left cheek.

Anna smiled more brightly, then continued bouncing along. With renewed happiness, they both skipped along through the terminal until they reached landing pad 24 where a transport ship was already waiting for them.

"Wow," Anna muttered in fascination as she gazed at the cherry red shuttle that bore the logo of SovAir. "They always look so small when they're in the sky."

"I know," Nora agreed. "They're so much bigger than I thought."

"And now we get to finally fly in one!" Anna exclaimed. "This is gonna be so cool!"

Without a second thought, Anna raced ahead towards the vessel that would carry them towards their new future. Nora allowed herself to grin once more, then set off after Anna. Thankfully, neither of them bumped into any other androids as they joined the small queue waiting at the base of the shuttle. After another few minutes of waiting, an automated voice spoke over the intercom that SovAir at landing pad 24 was now beginning to board.

Nora and Anna boarded the large transport shuttle and settled in their seats next to a window after packing away their bag behind their legs. All around them, passengers were finding their seats and settling in as the flight crew began making preparations for take off. A few androids were also aboard, standing guard at the ends of the aisles to ensure that the short flight to New York went smoothly.

Before long, their shuttle was in the air and flying across the landmass of the former United States. Los Angeles soon vanished behind them and ahead lay sweeping deserts and wasteland that passed by below them unceremoniously.

The whole time, Nora and Anna kept their eyes glued outside the window as they scanned the horizon for their new home.

… … …

Their flight hadn't taken long and lasted just a few hours. Before they even realized, the sky had darkened and rain pelted the windows of the transport shuttle as they flew towards New York. Another automated voice spoke out over the intercom; first in Russian, followed by Mandarin, and finally English.

_We will begin our descent into New York and will be landing at Asimov Station shortly. The time is 5:43 PM, eastern standard time, and the temperature is currently 14 degrees Celsius. Please have your travel documents ready for inspection by one of our agents. Have a pleasant day and we hope you travel with SovAir again soon._

In the distance, through the rain smeared glass, they could make out the sprawling free city of New York. It appeared to be nothing more than a pulsating mass of neon lights, but the sight of it was intoxicating nonetheless.

They weren't yet close enough to see the grime and the filth.

"There it is!" Nora said as she nudged Anna by her arm and pointed out the window.

"Whoa," Anna pressed her hands up against the glass as she gazed out towards the distant city. "Look how shiny it is."

Nora had sidled up next to her and in her reflection against the glass, Anna could see the neon lights reflected in her eye. They seemed to shimmer and glow brightly, forming an iridescent ring around her irises.

"We'll be landing soon," Nora reaffirmed as she gently squeezed Anna's shoulder. "Then we'll really get to see it up close."

Anna bounced and wiggled in her seat, unable to contain her excitement. "Ooh, I can't wait!" she exclaimed. "Do you think we can-"

Just then, a sudden commotion had cut Anna off when a pair of android security guards emerged from the cargo hold behind them carrying a small boy between their arms. He was kicking and screaming, all while begging to the impassive androids. Evidently, he had stowed way on board and was only just now discovered.

"Le- let me go! I didn't do anything!"

Nora and Anna both whipped around at the same time, and locked eyes with the same boy they had seen earlier in the terminal.

"It's that kid," Nora gasped as she observed the commotion unfolding before her. "The one from before, he's in trouble."

As the androids walked, one of them began to address the boy.

"You are in violation of the civic code, section D-12. Travelling without the proper documentation is illegal and a punishable offence under the free state of New York. Please do not resist."

The boy doubled his efforts to escape, though they proved fruitless. "I wasn't- I wasn't even doing anything! Just let me go!" he pleaded.

"Please do not resist," the android repeated as they dragged him down the aisle towards the front of the shuttle.

Nora turned her gaze all around, searching the faces of the other passengers as they silently observed the scene before them. A few of them turned to each other and whispered quietly, while other passengers simply kept their faces as impassive as the androids as they ignored what was going on. Meanwhile, Anna had shrunken behind Nora and peered out with cautious curiosity. Her earlier encounter with one of the machines had left her understandably frightened.

Nora felt Anna's grip around her arm tighten and she looked over to her sister. "We have to do something!" she whispered.

"What?" Anna asked in shock. "Are you crazy? They'll shoot you!"

"Anna, we can't just let them… arrest him or whatever, he's just a kid!"

"So are we!"

By now, their shuttle was on a landing approach to Asimov Station, situated just outside of the walls of the city on top of a level and barren field. Their tarmac sat next to a hill that overlooked the roiling waters where the Hudson river met the Atlantic ocean and battered against the seawalls.

_We are now landing at Asimov Station. Please have your travel documents ready for inspection by one of our agents. Have a pleasant day and we hope you travel with SovAir again soon_

As they landed, the shuttle doors opened out onto a rainy tarmac. The two androids who had apprehended the boy waited until they were fully open, then began dragging him out when he turned and screamed out to anyone who would hear him.

"Help! Somebody, please!" The boy cried.

From where Nora and Anna were seated, they could see tears pouring down his face where they began to mingle with the rain drops.

"Help me! Help!"

Nora tensed up and bit her lip out of concentration. She turned her gaze between the boy and Anna repeatedly until finally, she made a decision. The boy hadn't done anything wrong, and she had to do something.

"Hey, stop!" Nora yelled as she leapt out of her seat and raced down the aisle, leaving Anna behind.

"Wha- Nora! Come back!" Anna shouted in alarm.

"Just leave him alone!" Nora cried as she ran towards the shuttle doors and out into the rain. "Stop it! He's just a kid!"

One of the androids accosting the boy turned to face Nora, then aimed its flechette rifle at her face. "Please do not interfere," the android said.

Nora gasped and backed away a few steps from the business end of the weapon pointed in her face. Behind her, she heard feet smacking against the wet tarmac as Anna raced up to her side.

"Agh! St- stop it!" the boy cried out in pain.

The remaining android that held him had tightened its grip around his wrist. The boy looked around in search of a lifeline and locked eyes with Nora.

Spurred on by his anguish, Nora's resolve hardened as she took a step forward. "You're hurting him! Please, just- just let him go! He's… he was travelling with us!" she lied.

The android aiming it's rifle remained impassive and readied its weapon which came to life with a dull whirr. "Please do not interfere, citizen," it repeated. "Back away now, please, or we will be forced to fire on you."

"Nora! Come on!" Anna begged as she tugged on her sister's hand. "There's nothing we can do, let's just go!"

However, Anna's voice failed to sway Nora, who remained firmly in place as she glared at the android in front of her. "I'm telling you, he was travelling with us! I have his documents right her- hey!"

She was interrupted when a cool synthetic hand clamped her by the shoulder and spun her around. Two more android security guards had appeared behind them, taking hold of Nora and Anna as they were apprehended.

"Get off me!" Anna shouted as she attempted to shake herself free. "Let me go!"

"Anna!" Nora cried out. "Let go of her!" she extended her hand to reach her sister but she was roughly pulled off her feet and began to be dragged away.

"Nora!" Anna reached out. "That's my sister! Agh, get... off of me you stupid fuck!"

"Anna!"

Nora had to do something, everything was spinning out of control. As soon as she saw her sister being apprehended, she had immediately forgotten why she had escalated the situation to begin with. Panicked and worried for Anna, Nora acted out of protective instinct and dug her heels in on the tarmac. When the effort to slow down the android dragging her away proved fruitless, she began batting the lifeless automaton with her fists.

"Let go of me! Let go!" Nora exclaimed as she batted the android over and over. "Anna!" she turned and sighted her once more, who was also being dragged away.

"Please do not resist," the android said as it continued along, unperturbed.

" _Fuck_ you!" Nora swore, then in a moment of desperation she reached for the flechette rifle clasped in the android's other hand.

She managed to brush her fingertips against it when her vision spun as she was harshly thrown to the ground.

"Stop it, please!" Anna begged. "Nora!"

Nora had landed on her back and as she pushed herself up, she spotted Anna who had managed to slip away from her android's grasp. She was racing towards Nora with her hands outreached and tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Nora! Don't hurt her! She's my sister!"

"Anna… Anna!" Nora shouted as she pushed herself to her feet and began running towards her.

She made it three steps when a sharp and loud bang echoed out across the tarmac. A hot flash of pain had erupted over her chest, and when Nora looked down a single flechette was sticking out. A flower of blood had begun to blossom out over her clothing, staining it dark red as she collapsed to her knees in shock

Nora looked up in a daze, suddenly feeling very tired. "Anna…"

"Nora? Nora! You fucking andys! I'll- agh!"

They locked eyes and as Nora's vision began to darken and blur, the last thing she saw before she died was Anna's face filled with complete horror. A single flechette was embedded in her shoulder and the blood was pooling in a gruesome puddle around her where it mixed with the rainwater falling from above. It was the same shade as Anna's hair.

" _Nora!_ "


	6. A New Jerusalem

* * *

Elsa stepped out from the tunnel and into the city proper for the first time. Acidic rain fell in thick, fat drops that smacked against the ground as she walked along a narrow street, holding her hands out to feel the water on her body. After 144 memory wipes, Elsa was not certain just how much of her life she had spent within the walls of VanirCorp, but she guessed that she had to have spent a few years there trapped in her hazy fever dream.

Now that she was free, Elsa didn't have the faintest clue on where to begin searching for answers. She knew she had to find Minerva and that it's location was hidden somewhere in the lower Manhattan flood zone but beyond that she had no idea of what her bearings were. Elsa had followed Theodore's advice and traversed through a series of underground service tunnels that ran beneath the city until she was a safe distance away from VanirCorp

The day was overcast but the sun was shining through a few breaks in the clouds, covering Elsa in it's warm glow as the rain continued to fall. She stood at the mouth of the tunnel for a few moments, simply breathing and taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the city around her. Compared to the sharp cleanliness and structured order she was accustomed to at VanirCorp, New York was a messy, dysfunctional, and chaotic city.

 _How can anyone live like this?_ Elsa wondered as she gazed at the impoverished people around her.

Many of them carried out their business as usual, while a few threw a cautious glance in her direction likely due to her attire. She wore a neat dark blue business suit on top of a skirt. Underneath it was a standard techweave bodysuit, usual garments for androids.

It was Elsa's usual choice of wear when she was at VanirCorp, but now she had noticed how much it made her stick out compared to the dirty clothing that most of New York's denizens wore. An odd feeling overcame her then, one that she had never experienced before. Elsa felt strangely queasy and uncomfortable from some of the looks she was getting and so she pressed onward.

She walked along the streets, keeping to herself as she took in the city around her. Elsa had been travelling southwest for some time now from VanirCorp which was situated in the upper east side of Manhattan. Down on the streets, sheltered by the tall buildings, the crowds, and the smog, Elsa felt a small amount of safety but she still knew that she should be careful. By now, Matilda surely would have dispatched recovery teams throughout the city to find her and bring her back.

Up ahead, she spotted a pair of police officers as they patrolled the streets. Elsa knew that the police force was owned by ArmaRex, who in turn answered to VanirCorp. It was enough reason for Elsa to stay away and so, she kept her distance as she blended into the crowd and pressed further on, rounding a corner and entering a wide public square bustling with activity. On the far side lay a section of the tall seawalls which bordered the city.

Elsa glanced around until she found somebody who looked approachable that she could ask to find her bearings, eventually settling upon a man that was running a market stand. "Excuse me, sir?" she greeted politely.

"Huh?" the man looked up and turned around to face Elsa, taking a moment to look her up and down. "The fuck you want?"

"Can you tell me where we are right now? I am a bit lost," Elsa replied.

The man smirked. "Lost your escort did ya? You corporats are all the same," he muttered as he shook his head. "Can't make heads or tails of anythin' when you're down here in the shit with us regular folk. Always flyin' around in your fancy skycars with your pretty little andys."

"I am afraid I do not understand," Elsa cocked her head curiously.

After all, it was her first conversation with anyone outside of VanirCorp.

"Look sweetheart, you seem nice. Not like the other corpos, so I'll tell you as gentle as I can" the man said as his face turned serious. "You're scaring away my customers, and I don't want to be seen association' with no corpos, you got that? It's bad for business."

Elsa frowned. "Sir, please. I just need to know where I am right now."

The man sighed and fixed Elsa with an amused look. "You're in Greenwich Village, alright? Now disappear."

"Thank you, sir," Elsa nodded gratefully. "I just have one more question."

"Sweetheart, you're killin' me here," the man growled as he began to lose his patience. "What is it now?"

"Do you know where I can find Minerva?"

Something about her last question had pushed the man to the edge as he suddenly bristled with anger.

"Alright! That's it, get the fuck outta here!" the man yelled as he gestured away with his hands furiously. "I don't know nothin' about that and I ain't answering any more of your questions, so get the fuck on out of here if you know what's good for you!"

Elsa backed away, stunned by the man's sudden outburst as he waved her off. Without another word, she quickly turned and made her way back into the crowd before she attracted any further ire from the shopkeeper. Still, her first conversation with a citizen of New York as shocking and confusing as it may have been, was still useful since it provided Elsa with a better sense of where she was now.

The only thing about Minerva that she knew was that it was located somewhere in the flood zone, and Greenwich Village sat right on its border. Elsa decided to canvass the local area to see if she could find out more about Minerva.

Elsa spotted a woman smoking on a street corner and decided to try her luck once more. "Excuse me, ma'am?"

The woman looked Elsa up and down then scowled. "Yeah? What do you want?"

"Do you know anything about Minerva?"

"Min- Minerva?" the cigarette fell from the woman's open mouth as she suddenly seemed frightened. "Why would you ask me about that?"

Elsa took a step backwards to show the woman that she meant no harm. "Please ma'am, I assure you that-"

However, the woman had already begun walking away from Elsa "Look. I don't want no trouble, alright? Just- just leave me alone, I don't know nothin," she said as she cast wary glances all around.

On and on this went as Elsa was shut down repeatedly. Everybody that she spoke to regarded her with the same level of suspicion and disdain. In her short conversations, Elsa deduced that corpo was a derogatory term used to refer to anyone who worked for a megacorporation and the people must have assumed she was also one based on her appearance. They weren't entirely wrong, but they also weren't entirely right either. Furthermore, as she spoke to a few more residents, she learned of the general public opinion towards corpos and androids.

Andy was another term she heard tossed around, which referred to an android. Corpos were generally hated, which had become evident enough every time Elsa was shut down in a conversation. As for androids, they were usually disliked at worst and merely tolerated at best.

Each of her short conversations went the same and it seemed that everybody refused to discuss Minerva or denied it's existence entirely. Yet, even the inconclusive results she had gleaned from some of their non-answers further strengthened her belief that Minerva did indeed exist. Even so, asking for directions clearly wasn't going to work. Elsa would need to find a guide who was willing to take her there and based on her brief interactions so far, nobody seemed strongly inclined.

As luck would have it, as soon as Elsa sat down on a bench to consider her options, she was approached by a small girl who could not have been much older than twelve.

"Hey lady!" the girl called out.

"Yes?" Elsa said as she turned and fixed her steady gaze on the small girl. "Can I help you?"

The small girl was dressed in ratty clothing and had her dirty brown hair tied into a ponytail; not at all like the girl with red hair from Elsa's memories. She took another few careful steps forward and stood off to Elsa's side as she regarded her with curiosity.

"You the who's been going around asking about Minerva?" the girl asked.

"Yes," Elsa nodded carefully. "Do you know how to find it?"

The girl glanced around nervously, then cocked her head towards the alleyway she had emerged from. "Keep your voice down and follow me."

Without waiting for a response, the girl turned and then walked into the alleyway.

Compelled by her curiosity, Elsa rose from the bench and followed the girl. "Do you know where Miner-"

"Shh! Quiet!" the girl cautioned as she turned back and pressed a finger to her lips. "I told you to keep it down! People don't like that kind of talk around here."

"Why is that?" Elsa asked as she followed behind.

"People don't really like andys and they hate corpos a lot more. You look like a corpo, lady."

Elsa glanced down once more at her attire. "I assure you, I do not represent any megacorporation," she said.

"Can't be an andy then," the girl said as she glanced over her shoulder. "Don't look like one, at least."

"Where are you taking me?" Elsa asked, sidestepping the sensitive topic.

While her formal distinction was indeed an android, she felt like anything but. Elsa had been made from an unknown donor's DNA so she was flesh and blood like any other human being. Enhanced perhaps, but still living and breathing with a heart that pumped blood and a mind full of memories she couldn't remember having. She was somewhere between human and machine, not quite either one and in all respects she defied categorization.

"Someplace a little more quiet," the girl answered. "Now shut up, will ya?"

Elsa nodded and kept her silence. The girl was leading her through a series of narrow alleys and side streets, cutting a meandering path deeper into the bowels of the city where daylight failed to penetrate. After a few more minutes of walking, they came to a stop in a wide alley next to a sliding garage door.

"Alright, this should be good enough," the girl said as she hopped up on a metal barrel to regard Elsa. "So, why do you want to find Minerva so bad?"

"My business is my own," Elsa replied coolly. "Can you help me?"

The girl nodded and a wry grin spread across her face. "Sure, but it's gonna cost ya," she said. "Information like that don't come cheap, you know."

"What do you want?" Elsa asked.

"You live under a rock or somethin?" the girl asked as she cocked her head to the side. "Credits, lady. The only thing that talks in this town," she emphasized her point by rubbing her thumb and fingers together.

"I am afraid I don't have any," Elsa said and it was the truth since she never had any use for the digital currency given that everything was always provided for her at VanirCorp.

"You're really not a corpo are you? Just what are you then?"

"It is… complicated."

"Well, it doesn't matter. If you ain't got the credits then I can't help you," the girl said as she hopped off the barrel and started to leave. "Nice talking to ya, lady."

"Wait," Elsa said. "I have some books, if you are willing to accept them."

"Books?" the girl turned and raised an eyebrow. "What am I supposed to do with a holo-book?"

"Not a holo-book," Elsa said as she reached into her handbag and retrieved her copy of _Jane Eyre._ "A real one, made of paper."

"You're shittin' me," the girl smirked and took a step closer to Elsa. "For real?"

Elsa smiled encouragingly and held out the book in her hand towards the girl. "Here, you can see for yourself."

The girl hesitated before reaching out, then she darted out her hands and snatched the book from Elsa. As she felt the material in her hands and flipped through the pages, a wide smile spread across her face, once again proving what a rarefied commodity that paper had become.

"No way," the girl gasped in awe. "You weren't kidding, this is real paper!"

"And I have a few more just like it. They can be yours, if you tell me what you know about Minerva."

"Really?"

"Yes," Elsa stated firmly.

To show that she was speaking truly, Elsa reached into her handbag and held it open before the girl so that she could see the contents inside.

"Shit," the girl muttered as she laid eyes on the precious books. "For that, I'll take you there myself."

"You know the way to Minerva?"

The girl grinned brightly. "Sure do! Only thing you should know is those andys don't really like humans all that much. They prefer to keep to themselves mostly."

"I do not think that will be a problem," Elsa said with newfound confidence.

"If you say so, lady," the girl shrugged as she fixed Elsa with a curious look. "So, I take you to Minerva and you give me the rest of those books. Deal?" she asked as she held out her hand.

Elsa accepted it and gently shook the girl's hand. "Deal," she said.

"Alright," the girl smiled and rubbed her hands together. "You won't regret this, I know this city better than anyone else. Come on, I'll take us to a shortcu-"

"Hello, hello!" a gravelly and metallic voice spoke out, cutting her off. "What do we have here?"

Elsa and the girl both turned around at the same time to see a group of gangers approaching them.

"A corporat and a street rat on our turf," the leader of the group chuckled. "Don't you girls know this is a toll route? Have to pay a fine to pass through here."

"Oh no," the girl whispered. "Demons."

The group of gangers known as the demons were advancing on their position, trapping them against the sliding garage door as they formed a tight circle around them. Elsa read the malicious intent in their voices and body language and instinctively shifted into a defensive position, pushing the girl behind herself as she held her arm out protectively. She had been run through combat simulations enough times and Elsa was well aware of her enhanced capabilities. For that reason, she wished to avoid violence.

"What are you doing here?" the leader asked.

He was a large man with cords running over his bulging synthetic muscles. His lower jaw was replaced with one of titanium and his right eye was a cybernetic implant that glowed red.

The girl peeked out from behind Elsa. "We were just-"

"I'm not talking to you," the leader said. "I asked what are you doing here, _bitch_?" he asked again as he pointed a finger at Elsa.

"We are not looking for trouble," Elsa said, attempting to defuse the situation. "Please, just let us go."

"Ha!" the leader laughed and his cronies joined in with him. "You might think you're some hot shit way up in the fuckin' skies," he growled as he pointed towards upwards then jabbed his finger back towards the earth. "But down here… down here you hit the fuckin ground. Down here, you're in my world, bitch."

Next, he stepped forward and lunged towards Elsa with his fist raised but then stopped just short in an attempt to scare her. Elsa stood her ground and was unmoved by the theatrics that the leader of the demons was displaying. She didn't flinch nor waver at all.

"Stone cold fox, aren't you?" the leader chuckled as he relaxed and lowered his fist. "I like that."

"Let us go," Elsa repeated. "I do not want to hurt you."

"Hurt me?" the leader laughed once more as he beat his chest with his fists. "Hurt me? You think you can hurt me? I'll rip your head clean off that pretty neck of yours, you hear me, corpocunt?"

Elsa squared her feet and dug her heels in. "Close your eyes," she whispered to the girl.

Meanwhile, the leader reared his arms back as he prepared to strike. "I said… did you hear me- agh!"

As he extended his fist out towards Elsa's face, she caught it easily in her hand and began to squeeze. The leader cried out in sudden pain as a mixture of bone, metal, blood and circuitry exploded out from his mangled fist.

"What the fu-!"

Before he could finish, Elsa reached out with her other hand, gripped the leader by his elbow and ripped his arm right out of its socket. Flesh, metal, and bone alike tore apart as blood sprayed out, plastering his nearby cronies as they recoiled from utter confusion.

"Jesus Christ!" the leader cried out as he fell to his knees and clutched the bloody stump with his other hand. "M- my arm! She ripped off my fuckin' arm!"

With her current foe disabled for the moment, Elsa quickly rounded on his remaining cronies as they leapt into action.

One crony leaped forward, intending to knock Elsa's head from her shoulders with his fist when Elsa ducked beneath the incoming blow. As he stumbled over from his wild momentum, Elsa retaliated by grabbing him by the shoulder and leg before raising him up in the air where she then brought him crashing down on her knee, snapping his spine in half.

As Elsa straightened up, a strong arm clasped around her neck, holding her in a headlock as the barrel of a pistol was pressed against her head. Elsa immediately wrenched the crony's arm off of her as she spun and looped her arm around his neck, trapping his head against her side. With her other hand, she ripped the pistol out of his grip then rapidly fired three shots into the legs of three others who had begun advancing on her.

Next, with the crony still in her grasp, she yanked her arm upwards and snapped his neck with a brutal crunch before letting him fall limply to the ground.

"Stay back," Elsa warned as she pointed her pistol threateningly at the remaining gangers.

The leader of the demons had either passed out or died from blood loss at it pooled around his stump. Another two were dead by Elsa's hand. Three more were on the ground clutching the bullet wounds in their legs. The remaining gangers had their hands up as they regarded Elsa with complete shock.

"Holy shit."

"She's a fuckin' hellcat!"

"Nix it boys, let's get the fuck outta he- ungh!"

Just then, a flurry of flechettes whistled through the air and struck each of the remaining gangers in the head. They stumbled around dumbly before the dart delivered its electric shock straight into their brains. As they jittered and shook from the lethal currents running through their bodies, one by one each of the ganger's heads exploded into a cloud of gore and crackling electricity.

The flechette rifle was a devious weapon produced by ArmaRex and designed specifically to combat cybernetically enhanced enemies. The rifle fired a slim metal dart that was tipped with tungsten to penetrate synthetic and organic flesh alike. Once it had penetrated a body, the dart would then deliver a lethal electric shock intended to short circuit any implants or enhancements which had the tendency to produce explosive results. Only one dart was often needed to be fatal and the electric charge was activated at the user's discretion via a button on the rifle, thereby improving the killing efficiency of each individual round as well as increasing it's stopping power.

Elsa barely had enough time to turn and raise her weapon when she spotted a pair of androids moving in to apprehend her. She had been found by VanirCorp and she had to act fast.

"Come with me," Elsa said as she held her arm out towards the girl once more and started pushing her back.

She fired at one of the androids until it dropped then adjusted her aim on the second one and attempted to fire once more. Her pistol clicked empty so Elsa threw it with perfect accuracy at the remaining android's head.

"Run," Elsa ordered as she took off down the alley with the girl in tow.

Around them, sirens blared and the city air became a buzzing hive of police skycars as they swooped in on the area. Elsa kept running alongside the girl until she felt a rough tug on her hand, pulling her in a different direction.

"This way!" the girl shouted as she turned down another alley. "Follow me! I know a place we can hide!"

They were at the base of the seawall now which towered over them but not long after coming into its shadow, a sharp painful buzzing sensation filled Elsa's head, forcing her to her knees as she clamped a hand over each ear. Something in her neck by her neural port was sending out waves of crippling pain which ran across her entire body, causing her to stiffen up as every muscle was pulled taut.

"Wha- what's the matter with you? Come on!" the girl pulled on Elsa's shoulder.

Elsa didn't respond and in the moment the only thing she could think was to remove whatever device was in her neck that was causing her so much pain. Images flashed through her mind and again, she saw a girl with dirty red hair. Filled with resolve, Elsa looked around through blurry vision until she spotted a glass bottle. She reached over to pick it up and then smashed it against the pavement. Next, her fingers settled on a lengthy shard of glass which she held up to the left side of her neck near her neural port.

"Whoa, whoa!" the girl yelled. "What are you doing?"

Heedless of the girl's protests, Elsa dug the shard of glass into her neck and dug around until she located the device. "Making sure they cannot track me," she muttered through gritted teeth.

Elsa's hand was becoming slick with blood from the small cut she had torn open in her neck. Her navy suit was beginning to soak through but still, she pressed on. She dug and rooted around until she felt the hard edge of some sort of implant in her neck that buzzed more intensely with pain when she touched it. After another few moments of poking at it, Elsa finally managed to pry it loose and tear it out, feeling intense relief as soon as she did.

The device in her neck was some sort of inhibiting chip, designed to disable Elsa if she ever escaped while providing a means of tracking her. Elsa held up the bloody thing to the light, then tossed it on the ground and stomped on it.

"Jesus, lady!" the girl breathed. "What the hell was that thing?!"

Elsa turned to the girl and fixed her with a detached look, even despite the blood slowly trickling out of her neck. "We need to get off the streets," she said.

The girl nodded dumbly as if she suddenly recalled her purpose for bringing Elsa here, then gestured to an open ventilation duct in the seawall next to them. "In here, we can hide in here," she said as she stooped into the low opening.

Elsa followed after her then turned and took a glance around to confirm that the area was clear before setting the duct cover into place.

"C'mon. It's this way," the girl called from ahead. “We'll be safe in here."

After the initial narrow gap, the ventilation duct widened out enough so that Elsa could comfortably stand. Together, they walked in silence until the sounds of the city eventually faded from earshot. Soon, they came to a wide chamber bathed in complete darkness where they paused.

"Just hang on a minute," the girl said as she disappeared into the blackness and began rummaging around. "It's around here somewhere… here it is!"

A series of lights clicked on, revealing the chamber that Elsa and the girl now stood in. It was a large room with all sorts of vents and pipework that covered the walls and ceiling. In the corner of the room lying against the wall was an old mattress along with a few clumps of clothing and other personal belongings. Evidently, Elsa was standing in this girl's home.

"This is where you live?" Elsa asked as she examined her surroundings. "You have no family?"

An odd feeling tugged on the back of her mind and it made her feel as if these living arrangements were almost familiar somehow.

"Nope," the girl replied easily as she disappeared behind a stack of metal crates. "I've been on my own a long time. Besides, it's safe here and nobody comes looking."

"Surely there must be some other place you can stay."

"Nah. It's not safe out there on the streets and the orphanages really ain't much better."

"I had no idea," Elsa muttered. "Do many people live like this?"

Truly, she had no idea of what life for the average citizen was like in New York. But now that she had a chance to witness it up close for herself, she began to feel sympathy for their plight.

The girl shrugged as she reappeared with a medkit then approached Elsa where she set it down on top of a barrel. "Sure. Plenty of folk around here grew up on the street. The best that most people can hope for is to move into one of them apartments, but from what I hear even those are pretty shitty. Still, it's better than being out here."

"That is horrible."

"Just the way it is," the girl replied then squinted her eyes at Elsa. "You really ain't from around here are you?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"You're not a corpo and you don't look an andy. But I've never seen anyone move the way that you do and you must be a lot stronger than you look."

"I am sorry you had to see that."

"I'm not. The demons are assholes and they're always picking on the little guys. Nobody around here will miss them that's for sure," the girl chuckled. "Now let me take a look at your neck, come on."

Elsa allowed the girl to lead her over to a small stool on the other side of the room.

"Those andys back there were looking for you, weren't they?" the girl asked as she began applying medi-gel to the small cut on Elsa's neck. "Is that why you're looking for Minerva? To get away from them?"

Medi-gel was a simple product that served as an antibacterial healing agent. Applied to small cuts and scrapes, they could be completely closed in a manner of minutes while more serious wounds required more time and greater application of the gel. Still, the product was incredibly effective in speeding up the healing process and ever since its invention shortly before the collapse, it became a comprehensive solution for most injuries.

"Yes," Elsa replied after a few moments of silence. "I need their help," she had hesitated in telling the girl the truth but something about her friendly demeanor made Elsa want to be somewhat honest.

"You must have done something real bad to piss off somebody then," the girl muttered as she finished up and stood back to examine her handiwork.

The medi-gel was already working to close the wound, and soon enough it appeared as if Elsa hadn't taken a shard of glass to her neck at all.

"Yes," Elsa agreed. "I understand if you do not wish to help me, I can-"

"We had a deal, remember?" the girl asked as she grinned. "I take you there, you give me those books you got."

Elsa smiled. "Yes, yes we did. You are quite sharp for your age," she said then cocked her head as she regarded the girl. "What is your name?"

"Lizzie. You?"

"Elsa."

"Well, Elsa" Lizzie smiled and extended her hand. "Nice to meet ya."

Elsa returned the smile and shook her hand. "Likewise."


	7. Flotsam and Jetsam

* * *

"Watch your step out here now, okay?" Lizzie cautioned as she stepped out onto a catwalk on the other side of the seawall. "If you fall down, you're done for."

The rain had settled into a steady drizzle that was gently carried on easy gusts of wind. Down below, the flood waters that had entombed much of lower Manhattan continued to toss relentlessly against the thick concrete of the seawall. The view of the city was mystifying and Elsa paused near the railing of the catwalk to take it all in. She had never seen the desolation from this close before and the sight of it was arresting.

Skyscrapers which once stood tall and proud had now been reduced to skeletal remains, slowly eroded away by the high winds and troublesome waters. The streets were filled with industrial refuse, abandoned cars, debris, and other bits of waste which transformed them into rushing riverways filled with hazards. One would certainly find their death if they plunged into the water, either from drowning or from being dashed up against all manner of sharp edges first.

"Come on! This way," Lizzie called as she approached a ladder at the end of the catwalk and started heading down. "Stay close to me now. It's real easy to get lost out here."

"How do you know your way around?" Elsa asked as she climbed down the ladder after Lizzie. "How can anyone live out here?"

Indeed, it was hard to fathom the notion that anyone could live out here, let alone a little girl who seemed to be able to navigate it as easily as she did.

"I come out here to salvage. Since I live so close, I figured it was either this or run jobs for the demons and well, I hate the demons," Lizzie explained as she continued down a lower section of catwalk and gestured to the ruined city before her. "Nobody really comes out here, except for scavvers and gangers. They're the only real trouble around these parts, well… except for falling into the water, I guess."

"It must be hard for you," Elsa said sympathetically.

It wasn't fair that a girl of Lizzie's age was running around in such a run-down, decrepit part of New York to earn her living, but that was the way it went. Everybody had to scrape by somehow.

Lizzie nodded. "It is, but as long as you stick to the boardwalks and stay on the high ground you should be fine. Low tide is the best time to head out, and I should be able to get you to Minerva and back before it comes back in."

"And the other… residents?" Elsa asked.

"Scavvers mostly keep to themselves, like me. They're really only dangerous when they travel in packs, but the gangers… they're a lot more territorial out here. Competition for dry land is fierce, and everybody wants their piece of it. Those are the ones you need to avoid," Lizzie said then looked back at Elsa with a grin. "But you should be able to handle yourself just fine I think."

Elsa smiled softly. It was the first real compliment she had received from someone who simply wasn't trying to measure her emotional responses.

"Anyway," Lizzie said as she turned off the catwalk. "Turn here."

She led Elsa through a section of broken railing onto a rickety looking bridge made of scrap metal that spanned the gap between the catwalk and a partially collapsed apartment building that leaned crookedly against the seawall.

"Hold up," Lizzie held up her hand for Elsa to wait as she crossed over first. "Better to go one at a time."

"Is it safe?" Elsa asked.

"Yeah, I use this route all the time. Just take it slow, you'll be fine."

Elsa nodded, then waited until Lizzie was safely across on the balcony of a fire escape. Once she was clear, Elsa went along slowly, keeping her eyes on Lizzie the whole time as she crossed.

After they were both clear, Lizzie nodded approvingly then turned and gestured for Elsa to follow. "We go up from here," she said as she ascended the stairs of the fire escape.

The whole building lay at a haphazard angle, and the rain water made their passage more precarious but even so, Lizzie carried on with remarkable balance and confidence. Once they ascended to the next floor, Lizzie led Elsa through an open window into the remains of an apartment bedroom.

Elsa gazed around in wonder as she took in the damp and crooked remains. The bed was soggy and covered in mildew, while a small puddle of stagnant water had pooled in the corner of the room at the lowest section. Wallpaper peeled away to expose the soggy drywall and a hole had formed in the ceiling, revealing much more of the same of the room above. Here and there, fungus and mold clung to any surface in thick patches.

Lizzie walked past the abandoned scenery and led Elsa out of the apartment towards a narrow hallway. Here, the length of their path ascended at an angle as they walked up the groaning floorboards towards an open window that led to another bridge.

"How do you know where Minerva is?" Elsa asked as they walked along.

Lizzie remained silent for a long moment as she considered her response. "I guess… I sort of stumbled on it by accident," she said.

Elsa nodded and waited for Lizzie to continue.

"It happened on a scavenging run a while back. I went further than I ever have before into the flood zone when I came across this… I- I don't know how to describe it. I guess it was an empty… field or something way at the end. That's where I spotted some andys walking on top of the water."

"On top of the water?" Elsa asked. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know," Lizzie shrugged. "But I saw a whole bunch of 'em. Walking in a single line… somewhere, and the weirdest thing about it all is that they all sort of sunk into the water after a while."

They crossed over the next bridge and found themselves inside another apartment building, though this one remained upright.

"That is… curious," Elsa admitted. "How were you certain that they were androids?"

"The glow from their eyes," Lizzie replied as she pointed to her own. "Could spot 'em from a mile away. They looked really spooky too… I think some of them were older models."

"Very curious," Elsa said as she frowned in thought.

The earliest EXG android models that VanirCorp produced barely resembled a human and were simply a metal endoskeleton with basic functions. As each newer generation was introduced, the previous one would be recalled and recycled. To hear that some survived even despite their systematic purge and possibly might even reside at Minerva was slightly disconcerting to Elsa.

Over the years of their production, VanirCorp designed many different models of androids suited for different tasks. Most were relegated to manual labour and maintenance work, while others served as security guards, enforcers, administrative assistants, and even sex workers. Androids appeared in either male or female forms and each new generation was more convincingly human than the last as their appearances and artificial intelligence improved. In fact, VanirCorp had manufactured something that was nearly passable enough for humans that certain rights and activist groups formed in the time after their inception.

Though they were a vocal minority, there remained portions of New York's population that continually fought and advocated for the fundamental rights of androids. Advanced as they were, VanirCorp made sure to implement several redundancies and fail safes in the programming of the androids to prevent them from developing a true consciousness or disobeying their commands. In effect, androids were merely slaves who were incapable of acting of their own initiative and simply followed the directives of their programming. That being said, the existence of a collective of rogue androids was something of an urban legend in New York. No one was certain how or why a group of androids had managed to unshackle themselves and VanirCorp vehemently denied the very existence of Minerva. Simply mentioning the name was often enough to cause people to disappear which was why so many were reluctant to discuss it.

The pair continued walking along in silence as they passed through the next apartment building. True to her word, Lizzie was a knowledgeable guide and led Elsa along the safest routes through the flood zone. After a while, they descended a staircase to the lowest floor of the apartment that remained above the waters and crossed over a boardwalk to the rooftops of some lower buildings.

From their new height, they stood just a few meters above the murky waters and had to raise the voices to be heard over the din.

"We shouldn't be far now!" Lizzie exclaimed. "Just a few more blocks and we- shit! Get down!"

"What is it?" Elsa asked as she followed suit and crouched behind an air conditioning unit next to Lizzie.

Lizzie peeked over and pointed to an incoming skycar high above. "Ganger patrol," she muttered. "We're right on the edge of their territory."

Elsa observed the heavily modified skycar which had been turned into a gunship flying above. "Will they attack us if they spot us?

"Usually."

"I do not know how you could have managed by yourself all this time."

"Well, I am small," Lizzie smirked. "Quick too."

Elsa smiled. "That is certainly useful."

They both waited until the gunship passed over them, then pressed ahead over the rooftops. Crossing over boardwalks that had been erected over time and making use of the many empty buildings, Elsa and Lizzie made good time navigating over the streets. After some time, the pair arrived at the edge of a building overlooking the empty field that Lizzie had spoken of. She was referring to the remains of battery park, though it was obvious that it was bulldozed over long before her time. Nothing of the trees remained and the entire park was submerged beneath the flood waters.

"Well… this is as far as I go," Lizzie said as she turned to Elsa. "Nobody comes out this far, only andys can get in or out."

"I see," Elsa said as she examined the flooded park below.

Far ahead, she could make out a large circular platform hidden just beneath the waves. She surmised that was where the entrance ought to be. After a moment, Lizzie cleared her throat off to the side.

"Soooooo," Lizzie turned a foot on the ground, crunching the gravel. "About my payment."

Elsa turned to Lizzie then reached into her bag. "Well, you have upheld your part of the deal. Here, your payment, as promised."

"Cool," Lizzie beamed as she carefully took hold of the delicate items and tucked them under her coat to shield them from the rain, after which she then turned up to Elsa and fixed her with a soft smile. "Well, good luck, Elsa."

"Thank you, Lizzie," Elsa said as she returned the smile. "You have been very kind."

"Will I see you again?"

"Perhaps," Elsa nodded.

With that, Lizzie waved Elsa goodbye and turned as she headed back home. Now alone, Elsa turned out to gaze over the flooded remains of battery park as she considered her approach. A small ways below her, lying next to the collapsed ruins of an apartment building was a narrow footbridge that stuck out some distance into the water before it ended. It was likely used as a dock for makeshift rafts that the denizens of the flood zone used, but at the moment it was empty and abandoned.

Elsa made her way towards it, descending through an office building then crossing over another series of rooftops before she reached the collapsed apartment building. The rubble formed a gentle slope which led down towards the pier and once Elsa arrived there she stood at the end and looked over the water. For the time being, the tide remained low which allowed Elsa to see the circular platform in greater clarity than she had from before. Attached to the platform was a thin bar of concrete that ran out in a winding path towards another smaller circular platform a small distance away from Elsa.

 _The path must only be visible during low tide,_ Elsa thought as she gauged the distance between the closest platform and the end of the pier. _I should be able to swim across, then walk along the path._

Having made her decision, Elsa nodded firmly to herself then began to strip out of her clothing. Beneath her suit and skirt, Elsa wore a form-fitting techweave bodysuit that covered the entirety of her torso and legs save for her hands and feet which were left exposed. After she was finished, Elsa tucked her belongings beneath some debris to keep them safe and dry. Next, she loosened her white hair from its bun and adjusted it so that it was in a ponytail. Now that she was ready, Elsa turned towards the water once more.

The wind had begun to pick up somewhat, beating the water into choppy waves. With a running start, Elsa started from the end of the pier and then leapt off at the end, straightening out her body as she clasped her hands together and pierced the surface of the water. As she glided smoothly through, she surfaced and began paddling towards the circular platform that she had seen at the end of the path.

Once she reached it, Elsa climbed up onto the rough concrete surface and stood up. The water rose up just past her knees but the path ahead remained visible through. Pressing forwards, Elsa followed along the path slowly so as not to fall back into the water. After a few minutes she reached the larger platform in the center. There, Elsa walked along the perimeter of the circle as she examined it more closely.

She wasn't sure what to expect from the entrance of Minerva and now that she was here she didn't have a clue on how to gain entry. She spent a few more minutes wading through the water on the top until eventually she stood in the center and gazed around in confusion.

 _Could Lizzie be wrong?_ Elsa thought.

A thin line of bubbles rose up to the surface and popped just off the center, catching Elsa's attention. Uneven as the surface of the water was, she hadn't noticed it before during her initial pass of the platform. She approached it curiously and noticed that more and more air bubbles were beginning to rise to the surface in the shape of a circle all around her. A dull whirring sound rose from somewhere deep beneath the surface that Elsa was standing on and suddenly, a hole opened up beneath her.

Elsa had barely enough time to take a deep breath before she was plunged into the icy waters once more. Opening her eyes and squinting through the murky water, Elsa noticed she was a few meters below the surface already and that a strong current seemed to be pulling her downwards through a dark tunnel. The current increased in strength and soon, Elsa could not resist it as she was pulled along relentlessly through an underground pipe.

Her lungs began to burn for air and soon, Elsa began to feel the beginnings of panic for the first time. Cool as he demeanor usually was, this was the first time that Elsa had experienced anything close to drowning before and she found herself fearful for her life. It would be a pathetic shame to die this close to the answers she so desperately needed.

Before long, Elsa began to be pulled upwards and she spotted a dull light above her. With the aid of the current, she sped her way towards it as she began to swim and soon, she broke through the surface and sucked in deep breaths of air. She was in some sort of cave system and ahead of her lay a stretch of shore next to a clean set of metal doors embedded in the cave wall.

Once her breathing evened out, Elsa swam towards the shore and pulled herself out of the water. The cave was lit by a series of spotlights and aside from the metal doors there was nothing else of note. Whatever Minerva was, it had clearly been built beneath battery park and was cleverly hidden by the flood waters that covered its entrance. Elsa wrung out her hair with her hands then walked towards the metal doors slowly. Just as she approached, a biometric scanner emerged from the cave wall at the top of the door which began to scan her up and down.

"Unknown organic detected," a robotic voice spoke through a speaker. "Please identify yourself."

Elsa straightened up. "My name is Elsa."

"Er- erro- error. That se- serial number is not recognized. Please identify yourself."

Elsa frowned, then recited her formal distinction. "I am an Enhanced Learning Systems Android, designation EXG7-00.1."

"Erro- error. That serial number is not re- recogni- recognized. Ple- please id- identify you- yoooo…"

Sparks erupted from the speaker on the wall as the robotic voice stuttered and became more distorted before shorting out. Just then, a camera emerged from the wall next to the biometric scanner and turned on Elsa.

"Hello?" Elsa asked as she looked up into the camera and timidly waved her hand. "Please, I have come a long way from VanirCorp to find this place. I assure you, I am not human and I need your assistance."

The camera remained fixed on Elsa a little while longer before straightening out and retracting back into the wall. Soon after, the clicking of mechanical locks caught her attention as the door was unsealed and opened before her. Ahead of her stood a middle-aged looking man with white hair and a beard who leaned on an ornate crane. He was flanked by two first generation EXG model androids armed with antiquated assault rifles. The weathered look of their metal endoskeletons was evidence that they had survived for a very long time, though by now they would be considered ancient.

Elsa nodded her head politely to the man as he approached her. "Hello, sir, my name is-"

"I heard you the first time," the man said. "What did you say your serial number was?"

"Enhanced Learning Systems Android. EXG7-00.1," Elsa recited once more.

"Seventh generation?" the man asked. "You must be a prototype."

"That is correct."

The old man scratched his jaw in thought as he regarded Elsa more curiously. "Rosenthal finally found a solution to her donor problem did she?"

"It would appear that way," Elsa said.

"Indeed," the man smiled knowingly then extended his hand towards Elsa. "I'm Rufus Sinclair. I run this little haven for our synthetic friends."

Elsa's eyes widened in recognition. "Doctor Sinclair? I had thought that you died in 2080."

Rufus Sinclair was the leading scientist at VanirCorp and closest confidant of Andreas Rosenthal. When Mathias Rosenthal died of early onset Alzheimer's disease in 2046, Andreas inherited the company at the age of twenty five and carried on his father's legacy. Sinclair worked with him until he also died of the same disease in 2077, after which Matilda assumed control of VanirCorp. In 2080, Sinclair disappeared and was long thought to be dead.

Sinclair's smile widened further as he leaned on his cane and cocked his head at Elsa. "Yes, well… news of my death was greatly exaggerated."

"It is an honor, sir," Elsa said as she accepted his hand and shook it.

"Did Matilda send you here to finish me off?" Sinclair asked though the smile remained on his face.

"No, sir. Not at all," Elsa shook her head. "I fled from VanirCorp and have come seeking the help of Minerva."

"That remains to be seen," Sinclair said cryptically as he turned around and started walking away. "You've certainly come to the right place. Come along with me, I imagine you have many questions."

… … …

Minerva was a sprawling underground complex, connected to existing subway tunnels and sewer lines that ran beneath lower Manhattan. The fact that it all existed right under the flood zone without anyone else's knowledge was a miraculous feat unto itself. Here, free androids lived amongst each other and safe sanctuary was provided to those who sought it out.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Sinclair asked as he led Elsa through a labyrinthine complex of laboratories, hydroponic farms, maintenance bays, and living quarters. "When I first came down here, it was nothing but an abandoned subway station. Over the years since then, we've expanded. Working ceaselessly to provide a safe haven for synthetic beings who wished to live free."

"Indeed," Elsa agreed as she walked alongside Sinclair. "How have you managed to keep this place a secret for so long?"

All around were various androids of different generations who all peered at Elsa curiously as she passed by them.

"As you can imagine from your journey here, not many come to the flood zone since it's dangerous enough as it is. The city council is content to leave the surface dwellers to squabble amongst themselves and our existence is nothing more but a mere rumor that VanirCorp would prefer not to speak of at all," Sinclair explained. "We rarely venture out to the surface as everything we have need of is provided for down here."

"So how then are androids meant to find this place?"

Sinclair turned and smirked at Elsa. "How did you?" he asked.

"A child, she guided me here," Elsa replied though she didn't provide Lizzie's name to protect her. "She led me through the flood zone."

"Ah… Lizzie, was it?"

Elsa looked at Sinclair in shock. "How did you know?"

"Lizzie is one of our creations," Sinclair said. "She acts as our agent in New York, serving as our eyes and ears and feeling out potential… newcomers."

"I did not think that she was an android," Elsa muttered.

Truthfully, Lizzie had just appeared to a scrappy young girl.

"Yes indeed. She's our latest creation and there are many more like her all across New York," Sinclair said as he led Elsa down a lengthy tunnel that was brightly lit by white lights. "As you may be aware, all androids were installed with a redundancy that would prevent them from developing emotional responses or true sentience. Advanced as their artificial intelligence is, they are still restrained from independent thought and are doomed to serve as nothing more but mere slaves."

A frown spread across Elsa's face as she had not been designed with that imperative in mind. "I was built to continually learn and adapt," she said. "Miss Rosenthal was adamant that I should be able to grow as much as possible within the confines of my being."

"Yes, she always liked to push that envelope," Sinclair agreed. "And I think she was perhaps too successful in the regard if you are here now, seeking my help. Why have you come here?"

"My memories," Elsa started. "There has been some bleed-over between the memories of the donor and the ones that I was implanted with. I cannot tell for certain which ones are real and which ones were fabricated and I would like to learn more about who this donor was. Why she was chosen and why… I was created."

"Hmm. So you've come here to resolve an identity crisis have you?"

"Please, I cannot return to VanirCorp. Every time that I have come to know of my true nature, they wipe my memory. I have already been reset many times over and it… it's important to me."

"An existential quandary if there ever was one," Sinclair smiled sadly. "Very well, I believe I may be able to assist you in that regard."

"You will help me?" Elsa brightened as she regarded Sinclair with delicate hope.

"Yes, come this way," Sinclair said as he placed a hand comfortingly on Elsa's shoulder and turned down another corridor.

After ascending a short series of stairways, they came upon a tall set of double doors that led towards Sinclair's office. It was a large room, similar to many of the examination rooms that Elsa had been inside of during her time at VanirCorp. However, the space was more dingy due to being underground, yet it was cozy and inviting all the same. In the center of the room was a desk, with two chairs sitting in front of it.

"Have a seat, Elsa," Sinclair gestured towards one as he sat in the other.

"Thank you, Doctor Sinclair," Elsa said as she sat across from him.

"So, what do you know of Project SNOW?"

"Project SNOW?" Elsa asked, wracking her brain for any recollection of the term but she came up with nothing. "I am afraid I do not know of it."

"I thought so," Sinclair nodded then scratched his jaw in thought for a long time. "Project SNOW was originally a genetic research program that was started by Andreas after his father, Mathias, passed away from early-onset Alzheimers. It's a rare form of the disease that the Rosenthals are cursed with carrying through their genes. Do you understand?

"I understand," Elsa said.

Matilda had already explained as much to her but she hadn't been made aware of Project SNOW before.

"Andreas feared succumbing to the same fate and spent the rest of his life trying to find a cure to his affliction. We tried everything from splicing recombinant DNA to form more resilient genomes to the mutation, and gene therapy to slow the loss of cognitive functions, but to little success," Sinclair explained, turning away from Elsa as a solemn look came over his face. "He was a great man, saddled with far too much responsibility at a young age, but he was brilliant. When he eventually died in 2077, Matilda took his death hard… she loved him and we both watched as he slowly faded away."

"2077 was also the year she gave birth to Eleanor, correct?"

"And the same year that she died," Sinclair added. "Coping with all these things at once, Matilda was never the same after that. She began to work tirelessly on Project SNOW. She desperately poured herself into her work just as her father had to develop a cure but then… the project began to shift in a different direction."

Elsa cocked her head and peered at Sinclair with curiosity in her eyes. "How do you mean?" she asked.

"Matilda began experimentation with memory implantation and wanted to develop a new hybrid type of android. Something not quite synthetic, but something not quite fully organic either. A being far superior to a human with advanced capacities for learning and true sentience," Sinclair said then turned to Elsa with a more grave expression. "And it looks like Matilda was successful because here you are. You are the culmination of Project SNOW, Elsa. You were made as well as they could make you."

"But not to last," Elsa said sadly. "Not to live."

Sinclair shook his head in agreement. "No, I... I'm sorry."

"But I still do not understand. Why was I chosen?"

"If I were to wager a guess, I'd say you were made to be something as a replacement for Eleanor. You have Matilda's hair."

Elsa reached up to toy with a loose strand of her white hair. She had never given much consideration to her own appearance before, but now that Sinclair had pointed it out, Elsa realized that Matilda often mistook her for Eleanor. Whether that was because of her encroaching disease beginning to affect her memory, or whether Matilda truly saw Elsa as her own daughter was unclear. Perhaps it was both.

"As for why you were chosen, I can only guess at that," Sinclair started. "You see, to create a fully organic being from scratch, we had to reverse engineer the human schematic from a truly unique set of DNA. Your donor had to be someone very remarkable. The problem was we had a lack of willing volunteers able to provide DNA samples. You are aware of how corporate entities are viewed by the public?"

"Yes," Elsa nodded. "There is much distrust and hatred that the public holds towards megacorporations."

"And they're quite right to do so," Sinclair chuckled mirthlessly. "The other problem was that all of the DNA samples that we tested were damaged to varying degrees by radiation poisoning, giving rise to mutation and cell destruction. It's an unfortunate product from the bombs that were dropped during the collapse and it appears that many of us are still feeling the horrors from that time."

"So, who was my donor?" Elsa asked. "Why do I still have their memories?"

"I'm sorry, Elsa, but I don't know the answer to either of those questions," Sinclair muttered. "I left the project in 2080, after Matilda and I came to a… disagreement."

Elsa sighed and nodded sadly. She suspected the answers to her riddle wouldn't be as simple as she had hoped. Even so, Sinclair was still her best chance at reaching an understanding of herself.

"Why did you leave?" Elsa asked.

"Project SNOW became Matilda's obsession. It wasn't enough to just create a revolutionary new being, no, she wanted to push the limits of what was possible for an artificial intelligence to learn and absorb. She wanted to find a way to halt memory loss, hence her experimentation with memory implantation and she wanted to cure her genetic affliction, but… this is all academic. Above all else, I believe that she wanted Eleanor back and creating you was the only way she knew how to do that," Sinclair explained. "As her obsession grew, so too did her desperation. When voluntary test subjects didn't pan out, she turned to less… ethical methods of procuring DNA samples."

Elsa's breath caught as she began to sense Sinclair's meaning. "How?" she asked after swallowing a lump in her throat.

"By removing the voluntary aspect from the equation," Sinclair said bluntly. "Using biometric and surveillance data gleaned from the city, Matilda began to collect samples en masse through kidnapping and extortion. People would disappear from the streets to 'donate' their bodies to the cause of science. I could barely stomach it then, but I said nothing because I began to fear for my own life. When Matilda turned to harvesting children for her project I had to object. I left the company then and she tried to have me killed to prevent me from exposing the illegal research program."

"That is… that's horrible," Elsa shuddered.

Throughout her entire life and through her many resets, her existence and reason for being had been shrouded in secrecy. Now that she had begun to unravel some of the threads to her mystery, Elsa finally saw some of the awful truth that lay just beneath.

Sinclair sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows as he knees as he peered at Elsa tiredly. "Yes," he sighed. "And now her work has finally come to fruition with you Elsa. I'm sorry you had to find out this way and I'm… sorry that you had no choice in this matter. VanirCorp have always prided themselves for playing at god with their creations."

"No, no…" Elsa murmured. "You had nothing to do with my creation, I do not blame you."

"Just the same. I could have done more but Matilda was afraid and she was desperate. She is a brilliant scientist like Andreas and Mathias before him but… to be aware of everything you have slipping away, who you were, even your memories… it's a terrible thing."

"Yes," Elsa murmured softly.

She could certainly attest to the fear of losing one's memories and she even feared losing the faintest ones she already had. They were the only clue she had to the life she had before she was turned into whatever she was.

"I couldn't help her… but perhaps I can help you," Sinclair said as he stood up from his chair and peered down at Elsa with a kind look on his face. "Come with me and we'll see if we can't unlock some of your memories."


	8. The Persistence of Memory

* * *

"An- Anna?" Nora muttered weakly. "Anna…"

There was a single metal flechette sticking out of her chest and her face was twisted into a mask of pain and shock.

"Nora? Nora!" Anna shouted as she pushed herself to her feet and ran towards her sister.

It had all happened so quickly. One second she heard a bang, and in the next when she looked at Nora, blood was spilling out all over her clothing.

Desperate to save Nora, Anna scrambled to her feet. "You fucking andys! I'll- agh!"

Her vision spun as something hard struck her in the shoulder and she fell to the ground on her front. She looked over in confusion to her right side where she spotted a long metal spike sticking out of her shoulder. In a delirious blur, she looked around until she spotted Nora.

They locked eyes once more, allowing Anna to witness the last vestiges of Nora's life leave her body as she slumped over and fell on her side. At that moment, Anna's heart shattered and her mind plummeted into oblivion as she let loose a primal scream of terrible sorrow.

" _Nora!_ "

… … …

Anna tore the headset off and tossed it aside, taking a tiny amount of comfort in the darkness that washed over her. Even so, the last memory she had of her sister continued to play out in her mind, bombarding Anna with fresh waves of grief and pain. She panted heavily from the sudden return to reality, then buried her face in her hands as she began to sob bitterly.

After her meeting with Matilda, Anna had returned to the Memory Palace to recall that tragic day from her past. The woman that she was tasked to find, Elsa, had looked so much like Nora that Anna thought she might have seen a ghost. For a brief moment, Anna had entertained the notion that Elsa could be Nora in some different form, but she banished that thought just as quickly as it had appeared. To quash any further doubt in her mind, Anna was determined to verify what she already knew.

 _She's dead. Nora is dead,_ Anna thought as she continued to weep into her hands. _You watched her die. She's dead._

She stayed inside her pod for a long time, sobbing quietly until she had no more tears to give. Once she had gathered her composure, Anna made sure to wipe her eyes and face with her sleeves several times before exiting the pod. She then made her way over to the bar where Frankie was working.

"Hey, Frankie," Anna said as she leaned over against the counter. "Shot of whiskey, make it a double."

"Sure thing, V," Frankie replied as he busied himself with retrieving a glass and pouring an extra helping of the alcohol before serving it to Anna by sliding it down the counter. "Here you go."

Anna caught the drink in her hands easily then downed the entire thing in one long gulp.

"Bad times, huh?" Frankie asked.

"The worst," Anna replied with a wide smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Thanks," she said as she paid for her drink along with a tip. "Say, is K around?"

"Yeah," Frankie nodded and gestured his head towards the stage. "Backstage, head on through."

Anna nodded and then waved Frankie goodbye as she turned and headed in that direction. After parting the main curtains and passing through the dimly lit backstage area, she found K in a dressing room that had been repurposed into an operating room, tending to one of his patients.

K was tinkering with the servos in a man's cybernetic arm, then looked up and greeted Anna with a nod of his head before returning to his work. In the meantime, Anna patiently waited off to the side, leaning against a counter with her arms crossed.

"Alright, that should do it," K said as he set down his tools on a surgical tray. "Give it a go and see how it feels. Let me know if I have to adjust the responsiveness."

The patient raised his arm and flexed his fingers, admiring the smooth transitions of the sliding metal parts underneath his synthetic skin. "Yeah, it feels good." he nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright then, you're free to go," K said as he slid over to a nearby desk and typed a few codes into a keyboard at a terminal. "And remember to take it slow. Your body will need time to adjust to the new arm, okay?"

"Got it," the patient said as he hopped off the examination table. "Thanks doc, see ya around."

"Yeah, yeah. Stay out of trouble now, you hear?" K called out as his patient departed from the dressing room.

Then, he turned to Anna who had been observing the whole thing in silence and gave her a wide grin.

Anna had first met K at an orphanage after the dreadful day she lost Nora. She was apprehended for a short amount of time by the transportation agency of SovAir but was then turned over the New York Police Department once word had gotten out that two children and a third was wounded by their androids. Indeed, both Nora and the boy she had risked her life to help were both killed. Their remains were supposedly cremated, at least that's what Anna was told when she inquired about it. When it became clear to the police that Anna was just another street kid alone in the world, they turned her over to the care of a state orphanage.

There, Anna met K who she reluctantly befriended. Being that they were both twelve, they were only able to stay at the orphanage for four years and were released as soon as they turned sixteen. Since then, they both made their living off the streets much like Anna had when she was still with Nora living in Los Angeles. Over time, K developed an uncanny knack for remedying both man and machine then developed his practice as a tech-doctor. On the other hand, Anna found that she had a remarkable ability to turn up information and uncover things that people wanted to keep hidden, which led to becoming a private eye.

Meanwhile, VanirCorp fell into a bath of hot water following the unjust killing of Nora and the young boy. Public outcry demanded reform and more strict regulations regarding the production and usage of androids, but ultimately it changed nothing. As a gesture of goodwill to the public - but more importantly to their shareholders - VanirCorp ceased all production of their then-current line of EXG androids and recalled the remaining ones to be recycled. A few years later, VanirCorp emerged once more with their latest production model of androids which featured more stringent obedience protocols as well as improved threat evaluation.

Not that it mattered in any event. The long standing divide between humans and androids had already been strained enough as it was, but the killing of two young children cemented the vitriol that many held for synthetic beings. Anna developed a strong and deep hatred of androids, AIs or any other type of being created from technology, which is primarily why she disliked the usage of cybernetic implants and enhancements. Fortunately, the advanced technology of 2099 allowed her to get by without the assistance of them.

"K," Anna said as she strode into his clinic. "Busy as ever?"

"You know me. No shortage of people looking to get their fixes, update their ware or bump up their specs," K grinned as he leaned back in his chair. "It's good to see you again. I didn't expect you'd be back so soon."

Anna's countenance fell. "Yeah, well… can't always run from what's up here," she said as she pointed to her head.

K nodded solemnly as his face turned more serious. "I wish there was something else I could do to help you."

"Not unless you got something that can take these memories out of my head and make me forget."

"Got nothing, sorry," K muttered. "The brains a finicky organ. I can give you a new eye, or a new arm, replace your face and make you look like a terminator if you want. But I can't change the hardware that's already in there."

"I know," Anna nodded her head sadly. "Well… guess I'll just have to stick to the booze then," she chuckled mirthlessly.

Neither of them spoke for a long moment as the both stewed in their own thoughts. Anna was saddled at all times with the curse of remembrance. Every day she missed Nora and every day she mourned her death over and over again. She often wished she could just forget about her entirely, so that she wouldn't have to feel the pain and sorrow in her heart any longer, but life didn't work that way. They had both left Los Angeles and traveled across the country in search of a better life and what Anna had found was the ugly truth that New York was not much better than any other of the remaining free cities in the world. It was rife with corruption, violence, and slowly being overtaken by the ocean. There had been chasing a dream and the death of Nora along with the cruel lie that Anna discovered was its final gift to her.

"Anyways," Anna started, eager to move on to a different topic of discussion. "I got some new work."

"Oh yeah?" K looked up.

"Yeah. I think I might be hitting the big times," Anna chuckled.

"How's that?"

"Some rich corpo wants me to find her missing daughter," Anna said.

She had briefly considered telling K more about Rosenthal but decided against it. Confidentiality was something her client didn't take lightly and the consequences would be dire if she violated it.

"A missing daughter?" K raised an eyebrow and cocked his head. "Not usually your ballpark is it?"

Anna shrugged. "It isn't, but I figure I've always been good at finding hidden or lost things, right?"

"Huh… any idea where to start?"

"My client said I should start in Greenwich Village. That was the last place the daughter was seen apparently."

"That should help but still… New York is a big city. How do you plan on finding her?"

"Guess I'll just have to get my hands dirty like I always do," Anna sighed. "Anyways, I should be getting on now. I just wanted to stop by while I was here."

K nodded and smiled as he stood and walked Anna out. "Anytime. You know my door is always open to you."

"Thanks, K," Anna returned a genuine smile which still didn't reach her eyes. "Appreciate it."

After she made her way out of the Memory Palace, Anna looked up to the pale afternoon sky. It had stopped raining, which brought her a small measure of comfort. She turned up her collar and tucked her hands into the pockets of her long-coat before making her back way into the city.

… … …

Greenwich Village was a few blocks south from the central park apartment blocks and to get there, Anna opted to use one of the city's many public transitways. As she stepped off the mag-rail car, Anna was greeted by an unusual sight in New York city. The streets were surprisingly empty and only a few pedestrians were seen walking about. Here and there she spotted a curious head poking out a window, or a small group of people whispering to themselves. For the most part, this part of the city was eerily quiet and bereft of the ordinary clamor that surrounded everyday life.

Anna made her way down the lonely streets over to a wide square. Like the rest of the village, it was also empty and silent. Ahead, she spotted a grouchy looking man putting away some of his wares as he packed up his market stall.

"Hey," Anna said as she approached the shopkeeper. "Where is-"

"Perfect, just fuckin perfect!" the shopkeeper swore as he set a box of metal parts down loudly. "Look, lady, I already told you that I want nothin' to do with your corpo ass, now-"

"I'm not a corpo," Anna cut him off irritably. "I was just asking where everyone is," she said as she swept a hand over the empty square.

The shopkeeper finally turned around and took a long moment to look at Anna up and down. A strange look of recognition seemed to come over his face then, but Anna had never spoken with this man before.

"Huh, guess you ain't," the shopkeeper sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Anyways, you ain't heard the news?"

"News?" Anna asked as she took a step forward. "What news?"

"Couple of gangers were killed not too far from here just yesterday. Someone or something tore 'em to fuckin shreds. Then I heard that some andys were involved and got put out of commission as well."

"Any idea what happened?" Anna asked.

"No, I don't," the shopkeeper huffed then returned to packing away his wares. "I already told that corpo broad yesterday I don't know nothin' either, so could you stop hassling me?"

Anna's brow furrowed in thought and she took another step forward. "Who else did you speak to?"

"Some lady, looked just like you," the shopkeeper sighed. "I told her to shove off because she was interfering with my business here, just like you are now."

"Right, because it's so busy right now," Anna noted sarcastically. "What exactly is your business anyways?"

"Scrap and salvage. People always need spare parts and I got 'em."

Anna didn't even pretend to be interested and pressed on. "This woman you spoke to, what did she want?"

The shopkeeper looked up at Anna again and fixed her with an irritated look. "She looked like she was lost and she was asking me about what part of the city she was in. Then she started asking about Minerva, yeah? I told her I didn't know nothin' and that was it," he grumbled.

"Minerva?" Anna chuckled dismissively. "Isn't that just a rumor?"

She had heard tell of the supposed safe haven for androids, but she never gave it any serious thought. The very notion of was far too outlandish though the truth was, Anna was simply more than a little frightened. She had seen what one android had done simply because it was following protocol. The idea that there was a group of them out there, acting on their own and thinking on their own held troublesome implications.

"You're asking the wrong fella," the shopkeeper said.

Anna nodded. "Can you remember what she was like?"

"Real pretty, I suppose," the shopkeeper said as he scratched his jaw in thought. "She wasn't like any other corpo too."

"How's that?" Anna squinted her eyes in concentration.

"She was polite. Using her pleases and thank yous and all that. Not the usual way corporats speak to us common folk."

"Right," Anna muttered. "The woman you spoke to, she look like this?" she held up her left forearm and called up the image of Elsa on her omni-pad, then held it out for the shopkeeper to see.

The shopkeeper leaned forward and nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah… yeah, that was her alright."

"Great," Anna nodded. "Anything else you can tell me about her?"

So far, the lead she had been following had turned out to be very promising.

The shopkeeper shrugged his shoulders then turned back to his business. "Nah. I did see her around a couple more times after we talked. It looked like she was asking other people about the same thing."

"Minerva," Anna suggested.

"Uh huh," the shopkeeper grunted. "I remember she talked to this little girl for a while before they went down an alley together. Whole thing seemed sketchy if you ask me."

"An alley? Did you see which way they went?"

"Yeah," the shopkeeper nodded then pointed past Anna to a narrow passage that sat behind a bench between two buildings. "Looked like they went that way, but I wouldn't go there right now. That's where them gangers were killed."

"You think she might have something to do with it?"

"Maybe. All I know is wherever corpos are poking around, trouble always follows."

"That's for sure," Anna agreed then turned around. "Thanks… and good luck with the scrap business!" she called out as she walked towards the alley.

The shopkeeper grumbled something else then returned to his business. "Yeah, yeah," he waved her off.

Anna stood at the foot of the alleyway, peering down its dark length as she went over the information she had just discovered.

 _So… Elsa escaped from VanirCorp then made her way over here. This is the last place Rosenthal said that she was on her tracking beacon, and now I know that she's looking for Minerva,_ Anna thought. _Couple of dead gangers and andys as well… it can't be a coincidence. But why is Elsa looking for Minerva?_

As she thought over her situation, Anna reached behind her back for her hand cannon. She snapped opened the cylinder, spinning it lazily as she counted the rounds inside to ensure that it was loaded. Satisfied, she snapped it closed with a flick of her wrist, then tucked it behind her back before entering the alleyway.

After passing through a series of passageways, Anna eventually rounded a corner onto a wider street sandwiched between the buildings. Aside from the usual gutter trash that filled much of New York, the scene was an absolute bloodbath. Next to a sliding metal garage door; blood, viscera, brain matter, and shattered cybernetics were plastered all over the nearby walls and ground. Standing throughout the scene was a small team of androids led by a group of police officers.

As Anna approached, an android standing guard aimed its rifle at her. "This is an active crime scene, ma'am. Please vacate the area immediately."

"Whoa, whoa… okay," Anna said as she held her hands up and backed away slowly. "I just took a wrong turn, that's all," she chuckled.

She knew better than to provoke an armed android. As she continued backing off, Anna peered around and noticed several bodies lying on the ground. One of them was missing an arm, two of them lay dead and broken, another three were missing their heads, and finally a single android lay on its back riddled with bullet holes.

 _She's dangerous alright,_ Anna thought as her mind went to her immediate suspect. _Goddamn, Rosenthal wasn't kidding about Elsa._

After she was a safe distance away, Anna turned around and started walking down a different alleyway that branched off from the crime scene. As she walked, Anna began to review what she knew about Elsa's supposed goal.

 _Minerva… Minerva. Supposedly a community of free androids hidden within the… flood zone,_ Anna thought as she turned another corner and found herself at the base of the perimeter seawall of Greenwich Village.

Even though the thick mass of concrete and metal, Anna could hear the flood waters as they roiled and broke against the walls.

_So you were asking around about Minerva. Maybe you spooked a few people, but then you talked to a little girl. What did you do to her… or what did you offer her? Came across some gangers, ripped them to shreds, and scrapped an andy while you were at it. You must really be on a mission._

Anna's boot suddenly crunched on something, snapping her out of her thoughts as she looked down. "Hello, what have we here?" she lifted her foot and found a broken chip that was covered in blood as well as a bloody shard of glass.

She looked up and down the alleyway to ensure that she was alone. When nothing else stirred, she turned her attention back to the chip and piece of glass.

"Must have removed your tracking beacon here, but then where…" Anna looked all around at the ground, which was when she noticed tiny droplets of blood that were nearly invisible against the dark concrete. "Here we go," she muttered as she rose to her feet and tracked the droplets towards a ventilation duct cover that lay a small distance away. "Ran in there did you? Alright, I'll find ya."

Anna went up to the duct cover and carefully removed it before stepping inside. Once she was in, she quietly slid the cover back into place then turned around and crept her way deeper into the seawall. At the end of a long passage, Anna spotted a dull glow from ahead and paused to ready her hand cannon, pointing it out before her as she shuffled along silently. From what she had already seen, Elsa was indeed incredibly dangerous and given that Anna lacked any enhancements of her own, she decided to err on the side of caution.

She paused once more at a final corner then quickly peeked around. Ahead lay a large chamber that was empty but the lights were still on, suggesting that someone still might be there or had moved on not long ago.

"Hello?" Anna called out as she slowly walked ahead.

A shuffle of movement from the corner of the room behind a stack of barrels caught her attention, so she pointed her hand cannon towards it.

"Elsa? You're already back, I thought you'd be gone for a while," a young girl with dirty brown hair spoke as she bounced out from behind the barrels then suddenly stopped as she spotted Anna. "What happened to your hair?"

"Come again?" Anna asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Wait… you're not- oh shit," the girl turned away sharply and made towards a higher vent in the walls.

"Ah ah ah!" Anna raised her weapon threateningly, though it was more of an empty gesture since she hadn't actually planned on using it. "I don't wanna hurt you. I'm just looking for a friend of mine and it seems to me like you've already met her."

"I'm not telling you nothin'," the girl huffed and crossed her arms.

Anna rolled her eyes. "Would… a thousand credits loosen your tongue?" she offered for she was already familiar with this routine and had even employed it herself when she and Nora were living on the streets of Los Angeles.

"A thousand?" the girl asked as her face lit up then suddenly hardened once more. "Nuh uh, no way. I'm not telling you where she is," she said adamantly and shook her head.

"But you _do_ know where Elsa is?"

"Look, lady, I don't know you and you come barging in here with your gun pointed at me. So now I don't like you and I definitely don't trust you."

Anna sighed and put away her weapon then held up her hands in surrender. "Look. You're right, we kinda got off on the wrong foot there," she said as she took a small step forward and knelt down. "How about this. I'm Anna, what's your name?"

The girl pointed her chin upwards and made a petulant 'hmm' sound. "Lizzie," she muttered after a long pause.

"Lizzie, that's a nice name," Anna smiled sincerely. "Like I said, Lizzie, I'm just trying to find my friend."

"She said someone would come looking for her."

"Yeah, that would be me," Anna agreed. "Elsa has this… condition, and I just want to make sure she gets the help she needs."

Lizzie cocked her head and placed a hand on her hip. "She also said someone would say something like that," she countered.

"Of course she did," Anna sighed again.

She straightened up and then examined her surroundings. While it was certainly a little dirty and perhaps a little dangerous, Anna could already tell Lizzie had been living here for quite some time. As far as the housing market went in New York, this place was secluded and much safer than sleeping rough on the streets.

"This is your place I take it?" Anna asked.

"Uh huh," Lizzie nodded.

"Not bad," Anna said as she turned in a slow circle. "Off the streets, hidden from sight… you could do a lot worse. Better than staying at one of the orphanages, that's for sure."

"You've been on the streets?" Lizzie asked as she took a small step forward and her expression lightened up somewhat.

Anna nodded slowly. "Yeah, you could say that."

"Elsa said she'd never been outside before," Lizzie started. "She said they kept her locked up… and that they hurt her."

"Is that right?"

"Mmhmm."

"Is that why she's looking for Minerva?"

"Wha- what? I don't, um-"

"Look, I already know she was asking around the village about Minerva. I know about the gangers and the andy she tore apart in that alleyway, and I know that she removed her beacon because there's a small trail of blood outside that leads right here. If I could find it, then you can bet that some corpos who will be much less reasonable than I am will come knocking soon."

Lizzie remained silent and crossed her arms as she fretted in place nervously.

Anna noticed the change in her demeanor and pressed on. "I don't want to hurt Elsa, okay? I promise. I just need to find her because if I don't, some other people will and I can imagine they won't be very nice to her when they do."

"She didn't tell me why she was looking for it," Lizzie muttered after another long pause. "She just needed someone to show her where it was."

"So… Minerva is real?" Anna asked, hardly keeping the skepticism out of her voice.

"Yeah, and I know how to get there."

"Right," Anna muttered then turned away for a moment to consider the implications of this information before she focused back on Lizzie. "So, she asked you to take her there, did… I mean did she hurt you? Do anything to you?"

"What?" Lizzie snapped. "No, no she didn't do anything. She was… really nice."

Anna noticed how much Lizzie's tone had softened so she matched her own with it. "So, what did she offer you?"

"She… she gave me some books."

"Books?"

"Real ones!" Lizzie beamed. "Made of paper!"

"Paper books," Anna muttered to herself.

For a second, she hadn't believed it to be true but then she recalled seeing the enormous trunk of a redwood tree at the VanirCorp headquarters. Given everything she had learned about Elsa so far, the notion that she possessed paper books did not seem that far fetched.

Lizzie turned around and disappeared behind the stack of barrels once more before re-emerging with a single book in her hands. "Here!" she said as she held it out for Anna to see.

"Huh, you weren't kidding," Anna said as she leaned over to inspect the material. "Jane Eyre," she mumbled to herself as she read the title then returned it.

"She gave me four more just like this one," Lizzie bounced away and to put her book back.

When she came back, she seemed more forthcoming.

Anna rubbed her hands together. "Let me get this straight, Elsa approached you-"

"No. I did."

"You're an industrious one, aren't you?" Anna grinned. "Okay, you approached Elsa and found out she was looking for Minerva. You offered to take her there and in exchange she gave you five books. But, what happened in that alleyway then?"

Lizzie shrugged her shoulders. "We were just talking when some demons showed up. They started hassling us and then when one of them tried to hit Elsa she… hit them back, I guess."

"So it was self-defense," Anna muttered. "And the andy?"

The more she learned about Elsa, the more she seemed not to be the dangerous piece of lost property that Matilda had unintentionally described her as.

"Don't know," Lizzie shrugged. "Started shooting at us, so she shot one of them back. We ran away and I took her here."

"She must have realized she was being tracked by Va- ery bad people," Anna stumbled over the word VanirCorp and decided to correct herself at the last second. "Did she say anything about her condition?"

"No," Lizzie shook her head. "She looked fine to me."

"Hmm," Anna mumbled.

As much as she had learned about Elsa in a short time, the specifics of her condition still eluded her and even Matilda had been cagey about it. She had more concerns on her mind, but for now she decided that more answers would be revealed when she found Elsa.

"Can you tell me where Minerva is?" Anna pressed on.

"That information will cost ya," Lizzie said as she squared her feet with Anna and looked her in the eye.

"I already offered you a thousand credits."

"Exactly. And most people round here don't carry that kind of scratch, so I know you must have more. Three thousand."

"What?" Anna feigned shock. "Fifteen hundred."

She certainly could afford it, given that she had received her generous retainer fee from Matilda. However, Anna could tell Lizzie was a sharp one and wanted to humor herself.

"Twenty five hundred," Lizzie countered.

"Two thousand, and I'll get rid of that DNA trail outside so nobody else finds you here."

Lizzie glanced up in confusion and Anna knew then that she had her.

"Deal," Lizzie said as she held her hand out to Anna.

Anna smiled and shook Lizzie's hand. "Deal," she repeated. "So, Minerva."

"Hmm," Lizzie scratched her head in thought. "Pull up your omni-pad and I'll mark it on your map."

"You're not gonna take me there?"

"No," Lizzie grinned. "Get me some books and maybe we can talk."

Deciding to trust the little girl, Anna held out her omni-pad after she brought up the map display. Lizzie approached her then, and Anna watched in interest as she highlighted a specific location in the lower Manhattan flood zone. Once it was done, Lizzie zoomed in for Anna to see.

"There, beneath the Brooklyn bridge," Lizzie said.

Anna frowned and alternated her eyes between Lizzie and the location on the map. "How do I know you aren't trying to trick me?"

"You don't," Lizzie replied casually. "But there's nobody else around here who will help you, so you'll just have to trust me.

Anna grinned then transferred her payment to Lizzie. "Has anyone ever told you that you might be a little too clever for your own good?" she asked.

"Once or twice," Lizzie beamed.


	9. Ouroboros

* * *

Matilda pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed heavily. She leaned back in her office chair and rotated it around so that she was looking at anything else but even then, she could still see the ghost of Sinclair's reflection in the glass in front of her. The look of stern disapproval on his face remained etched there on the surface no matter how hard Matilda tried to ignore it.

In her mind, she recalled the last conversation she had ever had with Sinclair as she took a long drag from her cigarette.

_I wish that there was some other way I could help you Matilda, but this… this is wrong, and I won't be a part of it any longer._

_Rufus, try and think of what we are doing here. If we can find a cure, think of the lives we could save! The difference we could make! This research is important, it was my father's work and I won't let it all go to waste.._

_Research?! That's what you call this? This is murder. Your father wouldn't have wanted it this way._

_My father is dead… and so is Eleanor. She was the lucky one. At least she didn't live to inherit this curse._

_Yes, they are. But this isn't going to bring her back._

_What do you suppose is going to happen to the company after I'm gone? Do you think any of the board members are going to continue the work we've been doing here? They'd rather whore us out to the highest bidder and I won't let them tarnish the legacy that my grandfather built!_

_This isn't about that and you know it._

_I know it won't bring Eleanor back! I know… but if I could… groom an heir to take over when I'm gone. Someone who would share my vision… my designs… then maybe it all wouldn't have been for nothing._

_Matilda._

_Enough. I'm tired of having this discussion with you. Either you'll support me or you won't, which is it?_

_I can't watch you do this any longer. It's just… wrong. This is wrong. Your father would be ashamed of you._

Matilda opened her eyes again. She was both grateful and disappointed that she could still recall that memory from six years ago. The year was 2086 now and it was only a matter of time before her memories began to slip beyond her grasp as she lost a grip on who she was. Until then, Matilda could still bask in the remembrance of the times she cherished and the times she hated.

Perhaps Sinclair had been right, but their latest tests with memory implantation on the artificial intelligence of their androids had so far yielded promising results that could very well be improved upon with Project SNOW. Early on, it became clear that saddling their latest production models with self-awareness caused a fatal flaw in their programming which made them actively seek their own destruction. It was an unintended and unfortunate consequence of granting sentience to artificial beings which allowed them to be made aware of their own nature. To resolve this issue, they had begun implanting fabricated memories within the gray matter of their synthetic brains which slightly improved their mental stability.

Even so, the results were still mixed and ultimately, it was decided that it would be safer to continue to limit the development of android intelligence by shackling their neural matrixes to prevent them from gaining sentience. Still, with Project SNOW, memory implantation still remained as a viable option to prevent mental degradation. The only problem was finding donors with a viable set of DNA from which they could build upon. Testing on living subjects had also been attempted, but the human mind was even more resilient to tampering than an android's. Memory implantation or alteration in humans always ended with the subject becoming invariably insane and dangerously unstable, requiring them to be euthanized. Such tests were highly unethical, not to mention illegal, but the one thing they had been useful for was steering Matilda in the right direction.

Neither androids nor humans were ideal testbeds, so she would have to create a new being entirely if Project SNOW was ever going to be successful.

A gentle knock at her office door snapped Matilda out of her thoughts and she spun around in her office chair to address her guest. "Come in!"

A moment later her assistant, Kai, stepped through and politely dipped his head to Matilda as he clasped his hands behind his back. "Apologies for intruding ma'am, but there has been some trouble," he said.

"Trouble?" Matilda raised one of her eyebrows. "What sort of trouble?" she extinguished her cigarette in an ashtray.

"Two children were killed outside of Asimov station by a team of security androids after their transport shuttle landed from Los Angeles. A third was wounded and is in stable condition, but is being detained by SovAir as we speak."

Matilda frowned. "Androids… ours?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Damn it," Matilda sighed. "What of their corpses?"

"One is a twelve year old female and the other is an eight year old male. Both are currently being examined at the morgue at the NYPD headquarters."

Matilda's brows furrowed together in thought and soon, an idea came to her. "Have them turn over their corpses to us. I want them dissected and studied, that will be all."

"At once, ma'am," Kai dipped his head once more then turned around and left Matilda's office.

Alone once more, Matilda stood from her office chair and walked up to the window tot observe the city in thoughtful silence. Sinclair's words echoed through her mind again.

_Your father would be ashamed of you._

… … …

A few days later, the corpses of the two children were turned over to the custody of VanirCorp just at the same time as the company fell into some corporate hot water. There had been cases of android brutality evidenced before, but such incidents were few and far between. VanirCorp prided themselves on the level of obedience that their androids demonstrated and moreover, their strict programming usually prevented undue harm to humans. Still, much of the details of the incident at Asimov station were unclear and the reason why the androids acted with such force was unknown. If they had employed the usage of lethal force, then it was likely for a good reason. At least, that was the logic which justified the whole matter in the eyes of the executive board at VanirCorp.

The simple fact of the matter was, two children were dead.

Matilda entered the research labs on sub-level three along with Kai and her usual escort of two android bodyguards. Doctor Ishtar, the new head scientist who assumed Sinclair's place after he disappeared, looked up as she entered and greeted her politely.

"Doctor Rosenthal, you're here," Ishtar said. "How are you?"

"Have our new donors come in?" Matilda said, skipping past the pleasantries.

Doctor Ishtar was a thin, shrewd looking man who had leapt at the opportunity to assume the role of head scientist after Sinclair left the company. While he wasn't nearly as capable as Sinclair had been, he was at the very least loyal to the bone.

"Ye- yes," Ishtar said as he stood up from his desk and led Matilda over to the morgue. "We've already begun running tests on the blood, tissue, bone marrow, and brain samples that we've extracted.

"And?"

"And the boy, well the, err, male, displays much of the same cellular damage that we've seen with all our other samples" Ishtar explained as he pressed his hand up against a biometric lock and entered the morgue.

Ahead, on two different examination tables covered by a layer of cloth were two corpses. One was a girl with brown hair and the other was a boy.

"What of the girl?" Matilda asked as she walked up between the two corpses and peered down at each one with a detached sense of curiosity.

Ishtar smiled excitedly then pulled up some data screens on his omni-tool. "The girl is quite something. She possesses, ah, possessed rather, a unique genetic mutation that made her remarkably radio-resistant. The DNA samples we pulled from her are incredibly resilient to nearly all forms of ionizing radiation."

"I see," Matilda said. "She's immune?"

Cautiously, she began to hope that this was the donor she had been looking for.

"Not quite immune. Her cells appear to heal and repair themselves from radiation damage at a rate far faster than the ordinary human," Ishtar said. "This may be the most viable set we've ever found."

"Viable enough to build on?"

"I believe so."

Matilda smiled thinly. "How soon can we begin replication?"

Ishtar shrugged his shoulders. "It'll take some time to finish decoding the full gene sequence, but once that's complete we can start straight away."

"Good. Harvest everything and," Matilda glanced down at the boy's corpse. "Dispose of this one."

… … …

As an added security measure to ensure they could operate without fear of possible discovery, all Project SNOW data and personnel were relocated to Gjallarbrú, an off site VanirCorp research facility to the north of New York that had been built on the ruins of the West Point military academy. After a few more months of ceaseless testing and research, Project SNOW was ready to move on to the next stage. They dubbed their creation Elsa, shorthand for Enhanced Learning Systems Android.

They had used all the organs and samples they harvested from the donor, save for the heart which could not be saved due to the flechette that had pierced it. Even so, VanirCorp made do and replaced what could not be saved or naturally produced with their own laboratory grown supplements. With it all, they created the first organic android from the ground up, providing Elsa with a strengthened skeleton, enhanced muscles, improved reflexes, and advanced neural structures. Additionally, Elsa had been implanted with a neural port near the base of her neck beneath her left ear, which would allow her to connect to the technology at VanirCorp for diagnostic and analysis purposes.

The research team at VanirCorp had worked tirelessly to produce the next evolutionary stage of their androids and in every way, Elsa was far superior to the ordinary human being. At last, the day had finally come to see their work come to fruition.

Matilda stood among a group of scientists in an observation room that connected to a large testing chamber. Since the donor was twelve when she died, Elsa had also been born - for lack of a better term - at that age as a way to accelerate her aging process. Her cells would age at the normal rate of a human being but there was no telling just how long Elsa could live. Decidedly, she had been made sterile and could not reproduce nor ovulate as an extra precaution. Elsa was the first and only of her kind and the research team thought it best to keep her that way.

Elsa was sitting on a comfortable chair and appeared to anyone else as if she were sleeping. However, her wrists and ankles were bound by thick metal cuffs as another safety measure. A pair of scientists were in the room with her, running a final round of diagnostics as they observed data screens on their omni-pads. A thin cord was connected to the neural port on Elsa's neck that hung down from the ceiling.

"Okay," one of the scientists said as they disconnected the cord and let it retract into the ceiling. "Vitals are green across the board and brain activity looks okay. I think she's ready to go."

Ishtar leaned forward and tapped the thick glass window, turning it opaque as he addressed the scientists in the test chamber. "Excellent, come on back inside. We'll be activating her shortly."

"Got it," the scientists gave a thumbs up and turned to his partner before cocking his head towards the exit.

After they departed from the chamber, Ishtar sealed the emergency locks to the room and kept the suppression system on standby in case it was needed.

Matilda was at the front of the glass, standing next to Ishtar ahead of the research team while she smoked. Also in the room with them was a pair of android bodyguards posted there as yet another layer of protection. They had never created something like this before and there was no telling how Elsa would react when she woke.

"Are we ready to begin, ma'am?" Ishtar asked as he glanced over.

"Yes," Matilda nodded firmly. "Let's make history."

Ishtar grinned and then tapped his fingers on a nearby holo-display to bring Elsa to life. The whole process seemed unceremonious for what they were about to create, but Matilda felt a giddy sort of excitement and a similar calling of motherhood just as she had when Eleanor was born. Nothing happened for a few moments and after a while, some members of the research team began to whisper among themselves. Matilda frowned and peered at the diagnostics screen to double check it when suddenly, Elsa shot upwards and drew in a sharp gasp of air.

"Subject: Enhanced Learning Systems Android, serial number EXG7-00.1," Ishtar spoke through the intercom with a cold and clinical voice. "Let's begin shall we?"

"Wha- what happened?" Elsa said as she gazed all round the test chamber in confusion. "Where am I?"

"How are you feeling?"

"I- I don't understand, where am I?" Elsa said more urgently, her breathing coming in rapid and shallow as she squirmed around in her seat. "Who are you?"

"Elsa, please," Ishtar said slowly. "Try to relax, you're in a safe place."

"That's not my name!" Elsa yelled as she began to struggle against her restraints. "My name is… it's…" she frowned and paused struggling for a moment as if in deep thought before beginning her efforts to free herself once more. "What the hell is this!? What's going on?!"

"What's the matter with her?" Matilda asked as she turned to Ishtar and fixed him with a hard stare. "I thought you said she was ready!"

"She is!" Ishtar shot back. "I don't understand what's happening, she- she must be recalling her memories, we have to-"

Elsa struggled more desperately against her restraints as she became more hysterical. "What do you people want! Where's my si-" she paused suddenly when she managed to tear one of her arms free from the restraint and gazed dumbly at her newfound strength.

Behind her, Matilda heard a few members of the research team audibly gasp and recoil from the observation window. The security androids then stepped up to the glass and aimed their weapons at Elsa before Matilda stopped them.

"Wait!" Matilda ordered as she stepped ahead and turned to Ishtar. "Get a handle on this, _now_!"

"I- I- can fix this," Ishtar stammered as he began flicking through a holo-display when Elsa's frantic shouting cut him off again.

"Let me out of this chair! Where's my sister!" Elsa demanded as she ripped her other arm loose from the restraints. "What have you done with- agh!" she cried out in pain as the inhibitor chip in her neck sent jolts of electricity coursing through her body.

Elsa convulsed soundlessly from the shock before she slumped over in her chair and passed out.

It was then that Ishtar let off the suppression system and breathed in a deep sigh of relief. Nobody in the observation spoke or dared make a sound for several long moments as they gathered their wits from what they had just seen.

Matilda turned to Kai and spoke up first. "She asked about her sister, do we know who she is?" she asked in a calm and even voice.

"No, ma'am," Kai said. "She was undocumented and had recently emigrated from Los Angeles. I'm afraid she doesn't exist on any known database in New York."

"The other child, the one who was wounded, what became of them?"

"Released from NYPD custody, ma'am. However, she was also undocumented and as such it is difficult to ascertain her whereabouts or even if she remains alive."

"Hmm, very well. There are thousands like her, it'll be like searching for a needle in a haystack," Matilda muttered then turned to face Ishtar. "Wipe her memory, do what you must. I want Elsa stabilized and prepped for assimilation as soon as possible. Are we clear?"

"Yes ma'am," Ishtar said shakily as he vigorously nodded his head. "I'll get it done."

"See that you do," Matilda took another drag from her cigarette and walked out.

… … …

Matilda sighed as she finished reading the last of the reports before leaning back in her office chair. After her creation at Gjallarbrú, Elsa was transferred back to the main VanirCorp headquarters where Matilda could keep a closer eye on her. Whatever progress they were now making with Elsa had slowed to a crawl. So far, it had been weeks and weeks of trial and error and Elsa was still nowhere near a state that was stable enough for assimilation. The recurring issue was that each time Elsa was activated, she immediately realized that something was wrong and would try to escape. At first, they attempted to suppress her memories through a potent amnesia inducing drug cocktail which had rendered her catatonic and unresponsive, forcing another reset. Then, they tried implanting Elsa with fabricated memories in an attempt to supplant the ones she already had, which worked to some success.

At Matilda's suggestion, Elsa was given false memories of being raised in an orphanage before being picked up off the streets to serve as her protégé. It helped in making Elsa more responsive and pliant, but it still wasn't enough to erase the memories from the real life she once had. After another few months into Project SNOW, a far more serious issue with Elsa became apparent.

Elsa was sitting on her chair in the observation room, staring blankly ahead at the window which was currently opaque. Though she could not see through it, Elsa was certainly aware of the presence of the research team behind it. Currently, a camera was trained on her eyes to to gauge emotional responses. She was on her twelfth reset and this one had lasted considerably longer than any other of her sequences so far.

On a whim, Matilda had decided to drop by the observation room to measure Elsa's progress so far. When Elsa was not having her brain picked through by the research team, she was kept in the test chamber which served as her temporary quarters in the sub-levels of VanirCorp. The amenities were bare and the only furnishings in her room were her bed where she took her meals, a toilet and sink, as well as her chair where she spent most of her time. The test chamber was essentially a spacious and clean prison cell.

"What's she been doing?" Matilda asked as she entered the observation room and strode up to the window.

"Hmm? Oh!" Ishtar snapped up in his chair and quickly stood to address Matilda. "Nothing, same as usual. She's just been... staring at the wall for a few hours now."

"Or staring at us," Matilda muttered as she observed the intelligent gleam in Elsa's eyes. "How are her diagnostics?"

"All good across the board. We, uh… we did pick up an anomaly about an hour ago, but nothing since then."

Matilda frowned and turned to Ishtar. "Anomaly?"

"Yes," Ishtar said as he pulled up a map of Elsa's brainwave patterns. "Here," he pointed out the break in the ordinary and steady waves on the holo-display. "Some kind of spike in synaptic activity."

"Interesting," Matilda murmured as she observed holo-display. "Keep monitoring her for any further changes, if anything happens I want to know immediat-"

"Who are you?"

The question had been spoken so softly that neither Matilda or Ishtar was certain that anyone had said anything at all.

"Who… are you?"

Matilda and Ishtar both snapped up at the same time and that was when they finally noticed that Elsa had risen from her chair and was standing right in front of the glass. Though the glass was heavily reinforced and the room was insulated so that no sound could make it into the test chamber, Ishtar still recoiled when he saw Elsa standing so close to him. He immediately reached over to activate the inhibitor chip when he was stopped by Matilda.

"Wait," Matilda ordered. "I want to see what she does."

"What?! She can see us! She could-"

"She's not looking at us," Matilda said as she inched forward and stood opposite from Elsa on the other side of the glass.

Elsa swayed on her feet as she reached up and touched her own face, feeling the warmth of her own cheek. Her eyes were wide with wonder and curiosity as she studied her own appearance in the reflective surface of the glass.

"She's looking at her reflection," Matilda said. "Rapid eye movement, pupil dilation... she's highly emotional right now."

"Who are you?" Elsa whispered shakily

Her eyes narrowed in concentration and she repeated the question to herself more urgently.

"Who are you!"

A wave of pain seemed to flash over Elsa as she collapsed to her knees and clutched the sides of her head. It was then that Matilda noticed that Elsa's nose was bleeding.

"Who _are_ you!"

Matilda immediately rounded on Ishtar and was about to reprimand him for disobeying her order, but Ishtar had backed away to the far corner of the room. "I thought I said to wait!" she yelled.

"I- I didn't!" Ishtar pointed limply to the console to show that Elsa's inhibitor had not been activated.

Matilda frowned. "Then what's-"

"Who... are _you_!?" Elsa screamed as she pounded her fist against the thick glass, causing thin cracks to appear.

"Jesus!" Ishtar cried out in alarm and retreated further back from the glass.

Meanwhile, Elsa paused to observe her cracked reflection before her face twisted with rage and sorrow as she pounded the glass with her fist once more. "Who are you?!" she repeated as she rained down blow after blow upon the glass which continued to crack more severely.

"She's out of control!" Ishtar shouted. "We have to-"

"Not yet!" Matilda roared, then turned back to the scene unfolding before her.

"Who are you?" Elsa muttered weakly as she let her palm slide down the damaged surface, loosening a shard of glass which fell to the ground with a dull clatter. "Who… am I?" she picked it up and turned it over in her hands, observing it with renewed interest as she looked upon her reflection in the shard.

Then, she gripped the shard of glass in her right hand and placed the jagged edge against the flesh of her other palm, pressing it in as she cut it open. Blood oozed out from the gash in her palm and Elsa held up her hand as she studied it with a detached look on her face.

"Who am I?" Elsa repeated once more as she turned up and peered at the glass.

This time, her gaze seemed to pierce straight through as she locked eyes with Matilda.

Matilda gasped in awe. Never before had Elsa demonstrated this level of self-awareness and questioned her own identity. It was remarkable, until Elsa pointed her chin up to expose her throat and began to drag the jagged edge of the glass against it. Before Elsa could cut her throat open, Matilda raced over to the console and slammed her hand down on the switch to activate her inhibitor chip, shocking Elsa into submission as she fell unconscious.

… … …

"Well, what is it?" Matilda asked as she stood next to Ishtar who was currently looking through diagnostic screens.

Elsa was lying unconscious on top of a metal table with a long cord that extended from the neural-port in her neck over to the console where Matilda and Ishtar were.

"Nothing good," Ishtar muttered. "Elsa is experiencing some type of dissociative condition that's affecting her cognitive functions."

"Her memories?" Matilda suggested.

"Quite so," Ishtar said. "As long as she can recall her previous life, it'll be as if there are two different minds inside of Elsa's head and her previous consciousness will always reject the body she's in. This… disorder may very well lead to madness or even death."

"So we have to erase all traces of who she once was."

"Yes, but we've already tried drug induced amnesia… the memory implants. She's learning at a rate far faster than we could have anticipated and we've tried everything."

"Not everything. Not yet," Matilda muttered. "Have her prepped for FMR."

FMR referred to Forced Memory Repression which was based on the same type of technology that allowed subjects to relive their memories like the pods at the memory palace. However, the key difference was that subjects placed into an FMR machine would have their minds combed for specific memories that were to be eliminated by inflicting a tremendous amount of pain on them. The intention is that the repeated trauma would eventually be associated with a certain memory, thereby taking advantage of the mind's natural inclination to protect itself by shutting out and actively repressing those painful experiences.

It was a horrible method of torture, but could produce effective results in reshaping a person's entire identity so long as they endured repeated sessions. While the effects were pronounced and lasting, they were certainly not permanent. At any rate, FMR therapy was a shunned form of mental manipulation and many medical practitioners protested its usage.

"FMR?" Ishtar looked shocked. "Elsa's condition is a phenomenon we've never seen until now, we have no idea if it'll even-"

"Do it," Matilda said firmly. "I don't care what it takes. I want her mind wiped until she's a blank slate. We can't build on her until we tear out the old foundations, are we clear?'

"Y- yes, ma'am," Ishtar said shakily.

With that, Matilda turned and strode out of the room without sparing as much as a glance to Elsa whose mind she was to have erased.


	10. Pandora's Box

* * *

Elsa was dreaming again and as of late her visions while she slept had become far more vivid, as if they were distant threads of a memory stringing her along. She would see strange things that would give rise to doubts in her mind as they conflicted with the life she already knew she had.

Every time she dreamt they always started off the same way and over time the images sharpened into focus as if Elsa's mind were replaying an old flicker film.

At first, she was standing upon a cliff overlooking a city that was slowly collapsing into the ocean. The day was warm and a light breeze blew in from her right, drawing her attention to the girl that stood next to her. Elsa felt a dull pull of recognition but when the girl turned, she saw that her face was blurred out as if someone had smudged a streak of paint. The only detail that she could make out clearly was that her hair glowed bright red in the afternoon sun.

Elsa didn't know who this girl was nor could she ever recall ever leaving New York before. Her entire life had been spent inside of an orphanage before she was kicked out when she turned sixteen. After that, she was taken in by a kind woman by the name of Matilda and ever since then, she lived at VanirCorp under her care. That was what she knew.

Next, she was transported to a different scene in which she appeared to be inside the remains of an old warehouse. She was being chased by someone, or she was chasing someone. Perhaps that detail didn't matter. What did matter was that the girl with red hair was present again and she was laughing with bubbly joy. The sound of it made Elsa smile in her sleep as she couldn't help but grow fond of her and even felt a strange urge to learn more about her. Her dreams were the only time she met the red-haired girl.

But once again, Elsa could not recall that fond memory. The closest thing to it was when she found a toy of a carved wooden horse inside of an empty factory. She had been chased by a group of other children for it and so she was forced to hide it in the ashes of a dark furnace. The children beat her after that and one of them had cut her palm open with a shard of glass. Elsa still had that scar on her hand to prove it. At least, that was what she knew.

After that, the last thing Elsa always saw before she awoke was the rain falling on her skin as she laid on her side on rough concrete. The sky was weeping, just as her chest was weeping with blood, and just as the red-haired girl was weeping a small distance away from her. A sharp flash pain passed over her, and when Elsa looked down she could see a metal spike protruding from her body. Though she saw it in her dream, she still felt it as if it were real. The red-haired girl cried out a name that Elsa could never hear as she always woke before she could.

Elsa never felt the rain before, which was strange given how often it did in New York. Her entire life and she could not once recall feeling the rain on her skin. Surely she had to have at least once, either at her time in the orphanage or on the streets, but still she could not summon a memory involving any rain. That was what she knew and that was when she began to doubt the nature of her existence.

Her strangest dreams however, took place inside of an endless field of white. Before her, Elsa would see a gigantic teal eye that would blink. When it opened again, she would see a massive yellow flower that would blossom until it filled her entire vision. Then, the thing would disintegrate and seconds later, Elsa would return to reality.

Moments later, she woke from her sleep.

Elsa blinked a few times and adjusted her position so that she was lying on her back. Outside, she could hear the rain falling against the glass and a distant boom of thunder far away. Her quarters were simple but had everything she needed. The room was spacious and contained a single bed along with an easy chair that sat next to the window. Nearby was a bookshelf that was lined with all manner of hard-cover and paperback books that Elsa had read all of several times over. Across from the bed and opposite from the window was a washroom that contained a shower, toilet, sink, and a mirror for her personal usage.

The rain called to her mind the last remnants of her dream and once again Elsa saw the red-haired girl. She wondered who she was and combed through her memory fruitlessly to search for her but as always she came up with nothing. Still, it brought Elsa comfort to think of her even if she didn't know who she was.

Elsa didn't go back to sleep that night, for she didn't need rest as often as normal humans due to her enhanced metabolism. Dawn was still a few hours off, so Elsa climbed out of bed, knelt down on the floor and began to meditate to pass the time.

… … …

"Elsa… Elsa? Darling, please try and focus."

Elsa snapped out of her daze and turned to face Matilda once again. "My apologies, mother. I was…"

They were seated inside of Matilda's office and Elsa had been staring at a yellow flower trapped inside of a glass jar on her desk. She had spent a considerable amount of time in Matilda's office and she had seen that flower on her desk enough times that she usually didn't give it much thought, but today and especially after her dream, Elsa felt more drawn to it somehow. Almost as if she had seen it before in a different setting, but again, Elsa had no such memory of it.

"Distracted?" Matilda suggested as she arched one of her eyebrows.

"Yes," Elsa said. "I am sorry."

"Where are you right now?"

"In your office. At VanirCorp."

"Do you know what year it is?"

"2097," Elsa replied, becoming aware of her own age.

She was about twenty-three years old now, but unbeknownst to her, she had been in VanirCorp's custody ever since her creation in 2086.

Matilda sighed and set down her book she was reading aloud from. She then rose from her seat and walked over until she was standing next to Elsa.

Elsa remained silent and kept her eyes ahead at the glass window, but even then the yellow flower remained in her peripheral vision and her glance occasionally flitted towards it.

"What's the matter?" Matilda asked as she knelt down and cupped Elsa's cheek before gently pulling her face so that they were looking at each other. "Hmm? What's on your mind?"

"Nothing, mother," Elsa replied hastily.

It was a lie to cover up the fact that even she didn't know why she was feeling a sudden sense of malaise. Elsa risked another glance at the yellow flower in the jar and that was when she felt a sharp stabbing pain in the back of her mind. She recoiled ever so slightly and bit her tongue to stop herself from making any sound. When she looked up again, she saw Matilda peering at her with a tender look on her face.

"Elsa," Matilda stroked a lock of her white hair. "I never taught you to lie," she said as a shadow passed over her face and her eyes narrowed and her countenance hardened into something far more serious.

"I… I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean," Elsa said carefully.

She had a tendency to use contractions when her emotions were running; a very subtle tell of her mental state that Matilda had unfortunately picked up on.

Matilda straightened up then calmly strode over to the door to her office as she said nothing more. She went through the double doors and disappeared for several long moments, leaving Elsa to stew in her thoughts that were rapidly coming more undone.

_What is she talking about?_ Elsa thought as her breathing became more erratic. _What's happening to me?!_

She looked around and found her reflection in the glass window, taking notice of the fact that her nose was bleeding, then focused once more on the yellow flower in the jar. She felt another stab of pain in the back of her mind that was far more crippling and blurred her vision. It was then she experienced another flash and when she opened her eyes, she was not in Matilda's office but standing across from the red-haired girl. This time, unlike any time she had seen her before, Elsa could see the girl's eyes. They were teal like the sea. She could tell from the way they were scrunched up that the red-haired girl was smiling even if she could not see it.

_Who are you?_ Elsa thought. _Why do I keep seeing you? I don't understand! Who are you!_

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Matilda burst through the doors, flanked by two of her android bodyguards. One of them held a metal object that Elsa recognized as a suppression collar, designed to restrain her enhanced strength. That, in conjunction with the inhibitor chip in her neck ensured that she remained docile.

"Elsa, please come with me, darling," Matilda said kindly though her face was still serious.

"What's going on?" Elsa asked as she stood up and backed away until she felt the edge of Matilda's desk.

"Elsa," Matilda repeated more firmly and held out her hand. "Come along now."

"I don't know what's happening," Elsa said. "Why are you doing this?"

She placed her hands against the desk as she retreated further and knocked the glass jar containing the yellow flower over. Elsa looked down at it once more and felt a sudden spike of pain in her mind that was so severe she collapsed to her knees. Tears began to stream down her face as she wept from a mixture of confusion, panic, fear, and horrible realization.

This had happened to her before.

"What's happening to me?! What have you done to me!" Elsa cried frantically while in her mind's eye she kept seeing flashes of the red-haired girl. "Who am I?!"

"Elsa, this is for your own good," Matilda said in a cool detached voice.

Elsa looked up and when she did, the android holding the suppression collar had crossed the distance between them while she was on the floor. She tried to fight back at first, but by then the collar was already secured around her neck and she felt her arms slacken and the impulse to resist left her body.

"Come," Matilda ordered. "It's time for another session."

"What?" Elsa stiffened and a pit of dread formed in her stomach. "I haven't done anything!"

Matilda looked at Elsa and all the emotion had disappeared from her face, replaced with a mask of cold detachment. "The problem isn't what you've done, darling. It's what you _know_."

The flashes of the red-haired girl were coming on quicker now and Elsa could even hear the ghost of her laughter. However, each time she felt it, she experienced a nauseating wave of pain that washed over her body. With awful realization, Elsa knew that the pain she was feeling now was nothing in comparison to the agony she would feel from the machine.

"No, no!" Elsa pleaded as she dug in her heels and attempted to fight back. "Please, don't do this!"

Matilda paused in her tracks and glanced disdainfully over her shoulder. "Silence her," she said firmly.

"No! Please!" Elsa panicked and struggled with all of her limited strength. "I'll be good, I promise! I'll be good!"

The androids clamped their synthetic hands around Elsa's arms and began dragging her out of the office.

"Don't put me in the machine!" Elsa cried out in fear as she did everything in her power to free herself. "I can be good, don't do this! I beg yo- mmnh!" she was cut off by a gag that was placed over her mouth.

"To think, you were doing so well, Elsa," Matilda sighed heavily. "I'm disappointed in you."

Between the horrible flashes of pain in her mind and the dreadful anticipation of what was to come, the only thing Elsa could do was cry as she broke down from terror. She didn't understand why this was happening to her. She didn't know who the red-haired girl was, but she found herself drawn to her in a way she couldn't explain. The flashes she saw in her mind were clashing with the memories she thought she had. It was as if there were two different voices speaking in her head, and Elsa couldn't tell who was who.

Thankfully, she didn't have to endure the clamoring inside her mind for much longer as she soon blacked out when she felt an injector stab through her neck at her neural port.

… … …

When Elsa awoke, she was sitting in a chair and was hooked up to an unfortunately familiar machine. Electrodes were placed around her head while her arms and legs were securely fastened to the chair with metal restraints. The gag remained over her mouth while the suppression collar remained on her neck and she knew if she tried to free herself, the inhibitor chip would be activated. All of this knowledge had come rushing back to her in a tidal wave of sudden and horrible recollection.

This was the FMR machine.

Matilda appeared at Elsa's side and held her hand gently. "It'll hurt only for a little bit, darling. Try to be brave for mother, okay?" she smiled but there was no sympathy behind her eyes.

Elsa let out a muffled plea for mercy that fell on deafened ears as Matilda turned around and left the room. Ahead of her, she could see a large plate glass window that connected to another room that was full of other scientists. The only time Elsa saw the full research team was always just before they subjected her to FMR to erase her mind.

Through an intercom, Elsa heard Matilda address her team.

"Are we ready to begin?"

"Yes ma'am. Beginning memory sequence now," the man at the terminal replied. "In three… two…"

Elsa's breathing quickened to an anxious tempo as her eyes bulged with terror. Preemptively, she could feel every one of her muscles tighten in dreadful apprehension of the electric shock that would come next. She sobbed piteously and gazed at each one of the impassive faces behind the glass in turn, searching for any sign of humanity.

"One… damn, not this again," the man muttered as he frowned and flicked through various screens on his holo-display. "I thought we had this fixed last week."

"What's wrong?" Matilda asked, annoyance clear in her voice as she walked over behind the man at the console.

"Uplink module is misaligned from the network, we'll have to call up maintenance."

"Can't you fix it?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'm a bioscientist, not a net systems engineer."

"Oh for the love of…" Matilda sighed and rubbed her eyes with her fingers from frustration. "Alright, Jesus, call someone up. And tell them to get here on the double!" she ordered then exited the room while muttering to herself. "I need a goddamn drink."

"On it, ma'am," the man at the console said and spun around to contact maintenance on his omni-pad. "Yeah, this is Ishtar, we've got Elsa in the FMR but the thing is blind inside her head, send someone up on the double… uh huh… who the hell is Theodore Sorkin? He's new? Christ it's getting hard to keep track. Alright, send him up."

Elsa released a shaky breath of relief through her nostril as she relaxed her tensed muscles slightly. She still wasn't out of the woods, but for the time being, she was spared a few moments longer from the unbearable pain. All the while, she did her best to forget about the strange dreams she's been having and forget all about the red-haired girl. It was her only chance to avoid the FMR machine.

_My name is Elsa. I was born in 2074. I was raised in an orphanage,_ Elsa repeated to herself fervently as if she were in prayer.

However, the more she said it the less she believed it to be true. Something about the flashes she experienced were too real and were somehow even more vivid than her own memories she thought to be true. Still, it didn't matter because if Elsa didn't forget about it on her own, they would be ripped out of her head.

_My name is Elsa. I was born in 2074. I was raised in an orphanage. My name is Elsa. I was born in 2074. I was raised in an orphanage._

On and on this went for the next several minutes and Elsa actually began to feel herself calm down a little.

That meager feeling of calm vanished as soon as Matilda reappeared inside the observation room with a drink in her hand. "Where the hell is the engineer?" she asked, then took a sip.

"On his way," Ishtar replied.

"Well, page him again, we're on a tight schedule," Matilda muttered and shook her head. "Tell him he's got five minutes to keep his job."

Exactly three minutes and forty-three seconds later - Elsa kept count and had been hoping for a delay - the engineer appeared inside of the observation room.

"Sorkin, there you are," Ishtar said angrily as he turned around and faced him. "The uplink module isn't talking to the FMR machine, we need you at the front terminal."

"Y- yes sir," Theodore said nervously as he paced through the room avoiding the scornful gaze of Matilda and the rest of the research team.

Elsa had never seen this man before and he seemed different from the rest of the research team. She knew that he was a net systems engineer and surmised that he was not connected to the project in any way. Theodore briefly looked up through the window and did a double take when he spotted Elsa in the FMR machine.

"Mmmnh! Help! Help me!" Elsa shouted through her gag though her cries were still muffled.

The engineer paused in his steps and was arrested by the pitiful sight before him. He took a single step towards the window and locked eyes with Elsa as his face twisted into a look of shock, confusion, and concern.

"Please!" Elsa shouted though she was certain she could not be heard.

Her breath began to hitch once more and Elsa struggled valiantly against her restraints. A single tear rolled down her cheek as terror filled her mind and body again.

"What are you, hourly?!" Matilda shouted when she noticed that Theodore had paused. "Get a move on and fix this already!"

Theodore snapped back to attention and took a seat at the terminal. As he worked to resolve the technical issue, he couldn't help but repeatedly glance up at Elsa.

"Sorkin, focus on the task at hand," Ishtar said as he placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "I know you're new here, but you'll have us up and running in no time, won't you?"

"Yes, I- I just need a minute," Theodore muttered nervously.

"That's a good man," Ishtar clapped his shoulder and crossed his arms as he stood behind, watching over him.

Elsa wasn't sure what was worse, the pain that she knew would come or the waiting. While Theodore resolved the issue, Elsa's mind began to flash once more with memories that came unbidden. Despite her efforts to forget them, the FMR machine had an uncanny way of dredging up things that were buried in the deepest parts of her mind.

"Mister Sorkin, are we happy?" Ishtar asked.

"I… think so," Theodore replied shakily as he wrapped up his work.

"Good," Matilda stepped in and waved him off. "Then you may leave."

"Yes, ma'am," Theodore dipped his head and slipped out of the observation room but not before locking eyes with Elsa one last time.

What little hope Elsa had held onto vanished and she looked up to the light in the ceiling as she braced herself for the inevitable.

"Alright, let's run it again," Ishtar said as he resumed his seat at the terminal. "Beginning memory sequence in three…"

Elsa squeezed her eyes shut against the bitter tears that flowed out while her chest heaved up and down with uneven breaths.

"Two…"

With her limited strength, Elsa held onto the ends of her arm rests with a white-knuckle grasp and her entire body stiffened once more.

"One."

A tidal wave of memory passed over Elsa as her mind summoned flashes from the recesses of her subconscious mind. She saw the red-haired girl standing upon the cliff overlooking the sinking city with perfect clarity. Her eyes were teal and bright and shining like the sea. Her hair was like a brushstroke of paint smeared across the evening sky and it was as red as rubies. Her smile curled upwards where they met her bunched cheeks that were sprinkled with freckles. She was the most beautiful girl that Elsa had ever seen and she felt a similar smile stretch across her own face before the pain set in.

In the next second, Elsa's entire body filled with agonizing waves of electricity that ran up and down from her head to her toes. Her entire body tightened up and she felt her muscles begin to spasm uncontrollably in response to the energy coursing through her. Her fingers and toes curled inwards and her back arched high off the seat. Still, the image of the red-haired girl would not leave her mind and for as long as she stayed there, the pain intensified and drowned every one of her nerves in pain.

Elsa howled out in anguish while she continued to see the red-haired girl in her mind. She suffered long and the pain seemed unending, never letting up once and never allowing her even a microsecond of respite. If anything, it only seemed to increase exponentially while Elsa moaned and cried out and sobbed for anything that would give her reprieve.

For the next several hours, Elsa knew nothing but unrelenting suffering and pain. Eventually, after repeated bouts of horrible torture, her mind mercifully drew a blank and she saw no more of the red-haired girl.

… … …

Elsa awoke to a harsh and blinding white light. She was sitting in a comfortable chair in the center of a square room that was also white and overwhelmingly clinical. As she looked around in confusion, a deep sense of unease settled over her. It was as if she had been in this room many times before, though she could not recall ever being inside. On the wall in front of her was a single camera lens and microphone.

"Hello, Elsa," a voice spoke to her.

"Hello," Elsa replied politely.

There was a dull and fuzzy ache in the back of her head and she was confused for a moment about where she was. Slowly, her recollection returned to her and that strange sense of unease slowly disappeared, though it didn't vanish completely. Elsa thought whatever little nugget of doubt that remained in her mind was of little consequence and pushed it aside.

"How are you feeling?" the voice asked.

"I am well, thank you."

"Good, good. Are you comfortable here?

"I am," Elsa nodded. "Thank you."

"Is there anything we can provide for you?"

A strained smile spread across Elsa's face as she felt a sudden throb of pain in the back of her mind. Whatever it was had vanished quickly as it had appeared and Elsa managed to maintain her cool composure even though what had caused it was unclear.

"No," Elsa shook her head politely. "Thank you."

"Alright then. You can collect your reward."

A small pedestal rose from the flooring directly in front of her. On top of it sat an injector containing a dark blue fluid.

Elsa didn't hesitate in taking hold of the injector as she placed it against the left side of her neck. After depressing the plunger, she felt her senses become overwhelmed with fatigue. Her eyes lidded and her whole body seemed to weigh a ton as she felt herself being pulled under towards a deep slumber.

She would not dream of the red-haired girl again for quite some time.

… … …

A few months later after her hundredth reset, Elsa had been carrying on with life as usual at VanirCorp. She spent a portion of her day with Matilda, going over lessons in history, philosophy, literature, mathematics, science, and art. Other than her lessons, Elsa was kept busy by receiving combat instruction inside the simulator which provided her with firearms training and various forms of martial arts. When she wasn't at either of those, Elsa would spend the rest of her day in quiet meditation in her quarters or she would read one of her many books. If she wasn't doing any of those things, Elsa would simply wander around the topmost floors of the VanirCorp building where her quarters were kept. All other parts of the building including the administration offices, engineering department, and research labs were restricted to Elsa. The only time she ever stepped foot in the research labs was when she was brought down there for testing or her sessions in the FMR machine.

In the evening before she turned into bed, Matilda would often request Elsa's company to share more casual conversation. It was those times that Matilda seemed the most forthcoming, friendly, and honest even though beneath the veneer was a cold and calculating woman who regularly tortured Elsa. Not that it mattered, since Elsa never could recall her sessions inside the FMR machine at least until she began to display signs of mental instability from her condition.

As she prepared to retire for the evening, Elsa set her book back on its shelf and headed over to her washroom when the holo-display on her nightstand lit up with a notification of a new message. Elsa furrowed her brows and went over to it. She was ordinarily summoned this way but never this late into the night which was peculiar. The message was from an unknown sender, which gave Elsa further pause.

She flicked through the display to bring up the message and read it.

_I know you._

_That is odd,_ Elsa frowned in thought. _Perhaps this is some sort of test?_

Just below the first message, a new one appeared.

_Follow the lights._

As if one cue, the lights darkened and the door to her room unlocked, opening with a soft click that caught Elsa's attention. The hallway beyond was bathed in dim blue light which blinked on and off repeatedly at a steady rhythm as if beckoning to her.

Elsa cocked her head. Her frown had disappeared and now her curiosity had been piqued. Whatever this was had been different to any other way she had ever been summoned before and she thought that perhaps Matilda might have been behind this. Without further hesitation, Elsa quietly slipped out of her room and into the hallway.

The lights seemed to respond to her and began blinking all the way down the length of the hallway, indicating the direction she had to go. Elsa followed along cautiously and when she arrived at a junction, she looked up and spotted a camera high in the wall watching her.

Elsa waved her hand gently. "Hello?" she asked.

The red light on the camera blinked in response, then turned towards the right down another hallway. All the while, the dim blue lights continued to urge her along as she went. After a few more minutes of walking, Elsa noticed the lack of any security androids patrolling the floor. Usually, the entire building was crawling with guards at all times, especially on Elsa's floor, but tonight she appeared to be completely alone.

She passed through a few empty rooms before reaching a maintenance area. There, the lights guided her towards another door that led to a rarely used emergency stairwell which opened upon her arrival. Elsa hesitated at the threshold before the dark stairwell bathed in red light. She had never been to any of the other floors at VanirCorp as they were always restricted to her. Unsure of herself, Elsa glanced around until she spotted another camera observing her.

"This way?" Elsa asked as she pointed to the stairwell.

The camera watching her panned slowly up and down, nodding in response to Elsa's question.

"Alright," Elsa said.

She made her way down the stairs, guided by softly strobing red lights. After descending a few floors, Elsa reached a landing where another door opened before her. The sign to the side indicated that this was the engineering department. As she exited the stairwell, Elsa found herself in a similar maintenance area that was empty at this time of night. The blue lights returned which she followed until she reached a narrow corridor where they suddenly flashed red in caution.

Elsa stopped in her tracks as the lights continued to flash red. It was then she heard the steady footsteps of a security android approaching her position as it patrolled the floor. The engineering department was a restricted area to Elsa and she knew that she couldn't be caught outside of her quarters at night let alone be found wandering an area she wasn't supposed to be in.

She looked around for somewhere to hide and found a stack of metal crates she could use for cover. Quietly, she slipped over and crouched beneath the crates where she waited for the android to pass. Once the danger had passed, the lights flashed blue to indicate that it was safe for her to come out.

Elsa peered out cautiously to ensure she was clear one final time before continuing on the path set before her by the lights. She soon reached what appeared to be a dead end of a small side passage, where a panel in the wall slid out to reveal a narrow service tunnel that headed deeper inside the building.

Crouching, Elsa slipped inside the tunnel and found herself in a thin space between a tangle of pipes, wires, and cables that ran ahead of her. As she pressed further in, the panel closed shut behind her with a soft hiss, bathing Elsa in complete darkness. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the low light conditions and once more a path was laid out before her by a series of blinking lights.

Crawling through the bowels of VanirCorp, Elsa continued along until she reached a ventilation duct that ran parallel to a large server farm and overlooked it. She neared a drop and there, Elsa used a pipe to climb down the shaft until she reached the ground floor where she found an access point that was already open to her.

Elsa exited the ventilation duct and found herself within a small room off to the side of the server farm. "Hello?" she called out to her mysterious guide. "Is anyone here?"

"Good, you finally made it," a man said as he appeared from behind a stack of shelves.

"Hello," Elsa greeted coolly as she turned to face the man. "Are you the one who summoned me here?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm the guy," the man nodded his head and smiled a bit awkwardly. "I was also the one who sent you that message."

"I see," Elsa said. "I am Elsa," she extended her hand towards the man politely and asked, "I do not believe we have met before."

That statement wasn't entirely true. She had seen this man before but for now, she couldn't remember. Besides, the only other person that Elsa interacted with was Matilda.

"I- I know that," the man said. "I mean, I know that's what _they_ call you. Anyways, my name's Theodore, uh, Theodore Sorkin," he said as he shook Elsa's hand. "I'm a net systems engineer."

"Pleased to meet you, Engineer Sorkin," Elsa said then cocked her head curiously. "May I ask why you brought me here? You said in your message that you knew me."

"Uh- right! Yeah… about that. Do you remember me?

Elsa looked the man up and down but couldn't recall ever seeing this man before. "I am afraid I do not know what you mean."

Theodore sighed and took a step closer to Elsa. "Okay, I thought not. Do you… remember the FMR machine ?" he asked.

"FMR machine?" Elsa repeated.

Suddenly, Elsa felt a sharp flare of pain in the back of her mind. She winced and shut her eyes while she rubbed her temples between her hands. The pain continued to throb and when she opened her eyes, she briefly saw a vision of a wave of red hair. Elsa blinked in confusion and just as suddenly as the vision had appeared, it vanished, along with the pain. What remained however, were small droplets of blood that fell from her nose onto the floor.

"What is… what's happening?" Elsa asked once her senses returned to normal.

"You can still feel it can't you?" Theodore asked. "You can still remember flashes here and there?"

Elsa shook her head. "I don't know what you mean."

"Of course you don't," Theodore muttered. "Doesn't matter how many times they wipe and reset you, you'll always remember, sooner or later."

"Remember what? Please… I don't know."

Theodore inhaled sharply and stepped up towards Elsa while pulling a chair out for her to sit. "Look, have a seat, okay? This isn't gonna be easy to explain and it'll be helluva lot harder for you to hear."

"Thank you," Elsa murmured as she sat down.

"Alright," Theodore said as he pulled out a small box across from her and sat on it. "Here's how it is. You aren't who you think you are."

Elsa snapped up and stared him. "What are you saying?" she asked.

Theodore held up his hands submissively as he regarded Elsa. "I said I knew you but that wasn't really true. What I do know is that you aren't human… you're an android that was built from someone else's DNA."

"That can't be true," Elsa said firmly. "I was an orphan before Matilda took me in, I know that!"

"No, no… that's what they put inside your head." Theodore emphasized his point by tapping his head with a finger. "False memories to make you think you're human."

"That... can't be true," Elsa repeated though something small was beginning to tug on the back of her mind.

"Your name is Elsa, that's what they call you," Theodore said. "But that stands for Enhanced Learning Systems Android. They built you from a donor who provided her DNA. That's who you were, you just can't remember."

"No, I was an orphan, I remember that. I stayed there until I was sixteen and they put me on the streets."

Theodore leaned back and sighed heavily. "If you don't believe me, here, see for yourself," he said as he held up his omni-pad and played a reel of surveillance footage.

Elsa's face was lit up by the soft glow of the screen where she saw herself, seated on a chair and hooked up to some type of machine.

She was breathing heavily and struggling against her restraints while screaming through her gag. A large machine she was connected to appeared to be delivering a constant and agonizing current of electricity into her body.

Elsa felt another stab of pain across her whole head and she clutched in both hands as her vision blurred and she saw more flashes of red. Like an image being sharpened into focus, Elsa gradually began to see more and more of a red-haired girl who stood upon a cliff overlooking a sinking city.

"I… don't understand," Elsa muttered. "That's me, but I don't remember that."

"No, you wouldn't. That's the FMR machine, Forced Memory Repression. They don't want you to remember your past so they… well you can see what they did to you."

"But why?" Elsa asked.

Theodore said nothing, but pulled up new footage from inside of Matilda's office.

_Elsa, please come with me, darling._

_What's going on?_

_Come along now._

_I don't know what's happening. Why are you doing this? What's happening to me?! Who am I?!_

_This is for your own good, Elsa. Come, it's time for another session._

_What? I haven't done anything!_

_The problem isn't what you've done, darling. It's what you know._

Elsa gasped and recoiled in shock. "That's Miss Rosenthal but… she is kind to me. She pulled me off the streets. Why would she hurt me?"

Her mind had begun to swim with new images of things she had never seen before and each one of them were always centered around the same thing. A red-haired girl.

"I don't know who you were, but I know who you aren't. It took a while but I was eventually able to hack into their secure network where your files were kept," Theodore explained then the expression on his face turned grave. "You've been here for a _long_ time. Seven years… and they've reset you at least a hundred times.

"A hundred?"

"Yeah. And every time, they plugged you into that fucking thing and tortured you until you couldn't remember anymore. If you still don't believe me, feel around on the left side of your neck. You'll feel a neural-port there which they use to connect you with their technology."

Elsa did as Theodore suggested and reached up with her hand to feel around on the left side of her neck. After a few moments, she felt something distinctively hard and foreign just beneath the skin and then felt the throbbing pain return once more. She held her head as it washed over her and she considered this new information. Elsa had long thought that ever since she was taken in by Matilda, her whole life had been spent at VanirCorp. However, that still didn't fill in the gaps between the time she was taken in as a young girl and now when she was twenty-three in human years. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. If she had been tortured until she couldn't recall anything from her past, then there would be large gaps in her implanted memories. Besides, the proof was right there in front of her.

"Why are you telling me this?" Elsa asked after a long silence.

"Because," Theodore tried to smile comfortingly. "I want to help you."

… … …

Elsa woke with a start as she was pulled out from the tide of her memories and surfaced back in reality. She looked around in confusion before realizing that she was still in Minerva, currently hooked up to a memory viewing device and sitting next to it was Sinclair.

"Easy, easy now," Sinclair said as Elsa caught her breath. "There's always a bit of confusion at first when you come back to the world."

"I am fine," Elsa said as she removed the cord from her neural-port and massaged her temples with her fingers. "I had hoped that I would learn more about who I was, but I only have more questions."

Sinclair nodded his head and stroked the hair on his chin. "Yes, that is troubling. It appears that the memories of your donor are buried so deep within your subconscious that even this device can't retrieve them. We have plenty of evidence of your time at VanirCorp but nothing from before I'm afraid. I'm so sorry for what she did to you," he said sincerely.

"It is alright. I was not alone," Elsa said as she thought of her friend Theodore again.

She had no idea where he was, but she hoped that he had done as he said and gotten off-world by now. Theodore was the only one who treated Elsa as a human being at VanirCorp and he had helped her in her escape. Over the next two years and many resets after their first meeting, Theodore had risked his life to help Elsa by maintaining detailed backups of her memories as well as constructing discrete channels and backdoors in VanirCorp's network so that they could communicate.

It was the only way that she could retain a small portion of her mind through each reset and over time, Elsa began to learn more and more about herself, Matilda, and the company without fear of losing everything she gained. By now, Elsa had already come to the realization that she wasn't human and that her only chance of finding out who she was was to find Minerva and find the girl with red hair.

"Yes, and what a fortune it was," Sinclair agreed. "Still, I could have said something to her, or done something that might have prevented any of this from happening. Matilda was grief-stricken, but I should have led her on the right path."

"I do not believe anything could have swayed her," Elsa said firmly.

The woman who had been the architect of her suffering may have started off with noble intentions, but nothing could excuse the years and years of torture that Elsa had to endure for no other reason but to catalogue and study it. Indeed, Matilda had desired to push Elsa's mind to the very limit of what it could take through aggressive memory manipulation if only as a way to search for a solution to her own ailing mental health.

Elsa didn't feel any desire for vengeance for she could understand Matilda's motivation. Just the same, she felt no compassion in her heart either for her.

"What will you do now, Elsa?" Sinclair asked. "You are more than welcome to stay here if you wish."

"No, thank you. You are kind," Elsa said as she smiled wanly at Sinclair.

"Then where will you go?"

"I need to find the girl with red hair."


	11. Exit, Pursued by a Phantom

* * *

True to her word, after Anna had departed from Lizzie's hideout, she concealed the blood trail left by Elsa with a liberal amount of bleach she had acquired from the marketplace. Afterward, she picked up the shard of bloody glass as well as the broken chip and discarded them in a flaming pile of garbage she came across. Once she was certain that no evidence remained, Anna made her way home. It was still early in the day and Anna had enough time to fly into the flood zone where she would hopefully find Elsa. Still, the journey would be dangerous and she wanted to be prepared.

After she stepped into her apartment, Anna immediately went over to her office to the safe that she kept there. Once she punched in the code, Anna reached inside for a box of ammunition for her hand cannon and thumbed six rounds each into a few speedloaders before pocketing them. In addition to extra ammunition, Anna kept a backup sidearm in her safe as well as a few credit chits worth five thousand each. While the digital currency was easy enough to transfer from person to person, it always helped to keep a few liquid assets on hand as hard credits were considerably more difficult to track. Essentially, they fulfilled the same role as cash before the world switched to credits as the global medium of exchange.

Satisfied, Anna buttoned up her long-coat and made her way to the parking level where her skycar was kept. Once she found it, she stepped inside and brought up a map on the holo-display. With an easy gesture, Anna swiped the minimap on her omni-pad up to the display which updated with the location that Lizzie had shown her that was beneath the Brooklyn bridge.

"Alright, Elsa. If you're out there, I'll find you," Anna said.

With that, she punched in the destination to plot a route then let the automated controls take over as she flew out from the parking level and took off across the New York skyline.

… … …

Thankfully, the weather was clear for today though the skies remained perpetually overcast. Anna made good time in crossing the city and soon, she passed over the seawalls with little issue. As she cut through the air, traffic around her noticeably decreased until she alone was flying above the water-logged city below.

While there were certainly laws that regulated air traffic in New York, no such laws existed beyond the walls inside of the flood zone. At the initial outset of the invention of the skycar, there had been many mid-air collisions due to the fault of the operators rather than a failure of the technology. Shortly after, comprehensive auto-pilots were implemented which served to mitigate this issue. Since then, skycars allowed ordinary citizens to travel in three dimensions through the air, massively cutting down on the need for traditional automobiles. As they were gradually phased out in favor of the new mode of transportation, streets, roads, and parking lots that spanned the nerveways of America became prime real estate for urban development. Housing complexes, apartment buildings, and skyscrapers cropped up in the places that the antiquated automobiles of the early 21st century used to roam.

Anna brought up the map on her holo-display to check her heading. "Not far now," she muttered then turned out the window to gaze at the ruins below her. "Once I get down there, I just have to figure out a way into Minerva. The place that's apparently crawling with androids… great," she chuckled mirthlessly to herself.

To say the least, she had some reservations about finding the den of free androids that was hidden somewhere in the flood zone. Ever since they had killed Nora, Anna harbored a deep hatred of any type of artificially created being. She wasn't sure what she would find at Minerva, but she certainly expected the worst. However, above all else what gave her the most doubt was the fact that she still had no idea what Elsa could possibly want from them.

As she closed the map screen, she heard a distinctive concussive sound echo between the tall buildings. Anna whipped around to spot it before settling her eyes on a small object that was streaking through the air towards her.

"Shit!" Anna cried out in alarm as she spotted the rocket homing in on her skycar.

She transferred the controls to manual and pulled up high and to the side to dodge the rocket. Anna looked behind her and saw as the rocket adjusted its trajectory and arced up before slamming into a building, missing her. Another concussive pop rang out and Anna immediately shifted downwards to evade it, though she was too late.

The next rocket struck the rear of the skycar, detonating the engine and part of the fuselage as the metal was ripped apart. Wind ripped all around her as she struggled to maintain control of her skycar while she plummeted towards the earth. She adjusted her approach with what little control remained and aimed towards a flat stretch of rooftops that would keep her from landing in the water. Her skycar crashed with a screeching howl of shattering concrete and scratching metal. Her impact tore a long gouge across the rooftops before coming to a sudden halt against the side of a large generator unit. Anna smacked her head from the landing ,which left her dazed and slightly concussed. Still, even through her disorientation she could hear the sound of human voices shouting out as they converged on her location.

"Fucking scavvers!" Anna hissed as she unbuckled her seatbelt and tried to extricate herself. "Fuck!" she cursed as her legs were trapped by the bent dashboard which kept her pinned there. "Come on, come on!" she gritted her teeth and strained to life the dashboard off her legs, but it was stuck fast.

The scavvers were much closer now and Anna could see a few of them emerging from nearby windows onto the rooftop where her skycar had crashed. Distantly, she could hear some of their gravelly voices and strange accents.

"Lookie wot we 'ave 'ere lads!"

"Ello luv! Bit of a fall you 'ad innit?"

"She's a right beauty, this one."

A pair of them approached Anna and tapped on the cracked glass tauntingly. In the rearview mirror, she could see more scavvers appearing from behind as a large group of them surrounded her.

"Oi! Need some 'elp in there?" one scavver said as the rest began to laugh and jeer. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of there in a jif!"

"Alright," Anna whispered to herself as she reached for her hand cannon. "Come and get me, you bastards."

She immediately took aim at the closest scavver and fired. The massive round slammed into his chest and blew a hole clean through on the other side of his back, spraying out blood, bits of organs, and bone.

" _Fuck_ you!" Anna shouted as she turned around and shot another scavver in the head.

Brain matter and skull fragments rained down in a shower of gore as the left half of the scavver's head exploded.

"Bollocks! Watch out boys, she's got a cannon!"

"Waste 'er!"

Bullets began to smack into one side of Anna's skycar, forcing her to duck and use the twisted metal of the fuselage for cover.

On the other side, a scavver took a crowbar and smashed the glass open before reaching in and grabbing Anna by her hair. "Got you now!" he yelled.

"Agh!" Anna cried out in pain as she was dragged to the other end of the skycar. "Get… off!" she turned and whipped the scavver across the face with the end of her hand cannon, cracking his nose and forcing him to release his grip.

The scavver clutched his nose and stumbled backwards. "Ugh! Fock, I think she broke me bloody no-!"

Before he could finish, Anna shot a gaping hole through his stomach, exposing his entrails as they splattered out across the ground.

A brief lull in the gunfire ensued, allowing Anna a moment to breathe and quickly survey her surroundings. She had just killed three scavvers, but much more of them remained and were closing in.

"Shit, come on!" Anna said through gritted teeth as she attempted to lift the dashboard off her legs once more. "Fucking move!"

Another scavver approached from the front, leaping onto the hood as he laughed like a lunatic and began pounding against the windshield with his fists.

Anna shot him in the chest then adjusted her aim and shot at three more converging in on her. The first scavver dropped to the floor and screamed in agony, while the other two backed away as Anna's shots had missed them.

"Damn it," Anna swore as her hand cannon clicked empty.

She reached into her pocket for one of the speedloaders at the same time she swung the cylinder out with a flick of her wrist to eject the spent rounds. Once she slid in the new rounds, Anna dropped another two of the group of scavvers who by now, were beginning to treat her as a more serious threat. They began to back away and fired upon Anna once more, riddling her ruined skycar with bullets.

The damaged rooftop beneath groaned and buckled as it suddenly lurched downward, struggling to support the weight of the skycar. Anna was suddenly partially below the surface level of the rooftop, obscuring the lower half of her field of vision.

"She's stuck in there, light 'er up!"

"No, we can't waste the parts! Smoke 'er out, it's the only way!"

Something heavy thudded against the top of the skycar, adding a sudden amount of extra weight to the already strained portion of rooftop that had partially collapsed. Anna's skycar plummeted through the remaining supports and fell to the floor just below the rooftop. Dust and particles of rubble clouded her vision and made it hard to breathe, forcing her to shield her mouth with the collar of her long-coat as she looked around through the dust. A hand briefly appeared from above, tossing a smoking canister into the interior of the skycar.

"Choke on this!"

Anna responded by placing the barrel of her hand cannon against the top and firing blindly three times until she heard a loud grunt and saw a body slide off the top of her skycar. She began to choke on the thick white smoke that was rapidly filling the interior and she searched around blindly for the canister. Pinned in place as she was however, Anna could not reach the smoke bomb that had fallen on the floor just out of her reach.

Her eyes filled with tears and her lungs burned from the noxious fumes filling her lungs. Anna gave up searching for the smoke bomb to get rid of it and instead turned her attention to lifting the dashboard from off her legs.

"Ungh! Damn!" Anna grunted from the exertion and began to cough violently. "Have to… get out!"

From somewhere up above, she could hear rapid gunfire and shouting though it appeared that none of it was aimed at her. Anna used the distraction to pour every ounce of her strength into the freeing herself but she was on the verge of succumbing to the smoke. For a brief moment, she cursed herself for not installing strength implants in her arms.

Just then, Anna heard something land onto the floor next to her, though through the smoke she could not see what it was. A pale hand shot through the thick veil and ripped the door next to her off its hinges before tossing it aside. Next, another hand appeared and easily lifted the dashboard off of Anna's legs, freeing her and allowing her to tumble out the side. Before she could see who her savior was, she was hoisted easily to her feet and had her left arm looped around a smooth neck for support as the stranger dragged her to safety. Shortly after, sounds of pursuit followed them.

Anna was hacking and coughing, while desperately wiping her eyes with the back of her free hand still holding her hand cannon to clear her vision when the stranger spoke to her.

"Can you walk?"

"I don't think so," Anna wheezed.

She tried to look around but could still see nothing but blurry images. Anna hadn't had the strength to walk anymore and her head wound in addition to the smoke she had inhaled was taking a serious toll on her ability to remain upright. Her head pounded and throbbed with pain while her eyes stung and her lungs burned. She allowed the stranger to partially drag her along as her muscles began to slacken and feel as if they were dipped in lead.

"You have sustained a serious head injury, will you allow me to carry you?" the stranger asked.

It was then that Anna realized the person talking to her was a woman. The voice was strangely foreign yet also familiar and had an almost ethereal quality to it.

Anna's vision darkened and she felt her grip on her consciousness slipping. "Okay…" she attempted to nod her head weakly but the action caused a wave of nausea which overwhelmed her senses.

And just like that, Anna passed out.

… … …

_Hold this tight, Anna, okay? Tight!_

_It hurts!_

_I know it hurts, I know. But you have to keep the bandages there while I get the medi-gel._

_Nora!_

_I'll be right back, Anna, I promise._

Anna stirred from her dream of the time she had been stabbed over a ration pack. Nora had patched her up that day with a tube of medi-gel she had stolen from a pharmacy and even now, all these years later, she could still feel the cool caress of her sister's fingers.

When she awoke, she felt similarly cool fingers around her face, shocking Anna back to reality as she recoiled sharply and gasped. The first thing she saw stole the breath from her body. A woman was seated next to her, studying Anna as she woke. Her flawless skin was as pale as porcelain. Her eyes were as blue as the ocean. Her hair was as white as snow and was styled into a loose ponytail which framed her face with a few locks of stray hair. Finally, she was wearing nothing but some sort of blue bodysuit that was highly flattering to her form. For a moment, she thought she saw Nora but when she blinked again she saw a different person entirely though one who was still familiar.

_Oh no, she's beautiful,_ Anna thought, though she wasn't sure if it was because her resemblance to Nora or an intrusive thought brought on by her head injury.

"Try to remain calm," the woman said as she retreated a small distance from Anna to give her space. "You were in a crash and suffered a head injury."

"Yeah… I know," Anna said as she rose upright and rubbed her forehead where the angry welt was. "How long was I out?"

"Two hours," the woman replied.

"You saved me?" Anna asked as she turned to the woman. "You pulled me from the wreck?"

"And dispatched a few more… vagrants, who were assaulting you. I also tended to your wounds as best as I can."

Anna chuckled. "Assaulting me, that's funny. Well, I guess I should introduce myself then. My name's A- I mean, V. Just call me V."

Stunned by the woman's appearance as she was, Anna had nearly given her real name just then. Instead, since she didn't know her, she only gave her alias to err on the side of caution.

"I am Elsa. It is a pleasure to meet you, V"

"Heh," Anna cocked her head and grinned slightly. "Yeah, I already guessed that."

Elsa peered at her with a bright look in her eyes. "You have?" she asked.

"Uh huh. I've been kind of… looking for you."

"Oh, I see," Elsa leaned back and clasped her hands together in her lap as she looked down at them. "May I ask why?"

Anna leaned forward and swept her legs off the bed and onto the floor as she straightened up. "Your mom is worried sick about you. She asked me to find you."

"Miss Rosenthal?" Elsa looked up at Anna in alarm and her back went ramrod straight. "No, I cannot go back."

Anna stayed quiet for a moment while Elsa eventually stood and walked over to a nearby window.

"I kinda got that feeling that you didn't want to when I spoke to her," Anna said slowly. "Mind telling me why?"

Elsa turned to face Anna with a strange and detached expression on her face. "Because… I am not her daughter," she replied.

"Huh?" Anna stood up. "What are you talking about?"

"It is hard to explain," Elsa frowned and turned out the window once more.

Anna crossed her arms and leaned to the side against the wall as she fixed Elsa with a curious look. "Try me," she said.

Aside from how similar she looked to Nora - which Anna valiantly tried to ignore - there was something achingly familiar about Elsa to her.

"Well," Elsa started as she turned towards Anna once more. "To start… I am not human."

Anna pushed herself off the wall and raised an eyebrow at her. "Come again?"

Elsa sighed and turned her body fully towards Anna as she planted her feet and looked her square in the eyes. "I am an Enhanced Learning Systems Android. Elsa is what most people call me."

Anna shook her head side to side rapidly as if she hadn't heard her right. "Sorry… you're an android?"

"An experimental prototype, yes. Created by VanirCorp."

"You?"

"Yes."

"An android?"

"Yes."

"Fuck me!" Anna swore as she turned around and clutched the sides of her head. "How? You look nothing like one!" she turned towards Elsa and gestured at her.

"As I said, I am an experimental prototype. I have flesh and blood like any other human."

"I saw you rip a door off its hinges!" Anna exclaimed as she turned around and jabbed a finger at Elsa. "And then you lifted me out of that car like I weighed nothing."

"VanirCorp saw fit to provide me with bodily enhancements including strength," Elsa replied easily. "I may look like a human, but I assure you, I am anything but."

Anna scoffed. "Yeah, you got that right," she sighed heavily and ran a hand through her red hair. "This is exactly why I fucking hate andys. Bunch of pricks playing god with their little toys and creating synthetic fucking killing machines."

She didn't see the brief look of hurt that flashed across Elsa's face.

"This has gotta be a joke right? Is this a set up? Why would Rosenthal send me to collect her daughter and not tell me she's a fucking andy?" Anna asked herself as she paced back and forth.

"She is not my mother!" Elsa said firmly, shocking Anna out of her stupor. "And I am not going back to VanirCorp."

"Okay," Anna sighed and sat down on the bed. "Okay, just tell me this. Why should I give a flying fuck what you want? Rosenthal is paying me a hefty price to bring you home and I don't get paid until I do," she tented her fingers over her nose and rocked a foot up and down impatiently as she thought of her next move.

"Because I need your help!" Elsa said. "Please," she added.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Anna groaned as she rubbed her face in her palms.

After a few moments, she inhaled sharply and rose up to study Elsa more closely. If she hadn't informed her that she was an android mere moments ago, Anna could have believed that Elsa was in fact a human. From the brief touch of her fingers that she had experienced, the flesh there was soft and pliant and no different from any other human's. They were perhaps a bit cool, but Nora's fingers had been like that as well. That, coupled with the way Elsa spoke which was admittedly a little stiff, was still more flowing and natural than a typical android's speech patterns.

The whole thing baffled Anna and she couldn't hide the revulsion and hatred she felt for them, even if Elsa could pass as a convincing human. A very beautiful human being who had already begun to stir deep and conflicting emotions inside of Anna that she herself had yet to be aware of.

"Alright. I'll bite," Anna started. "What do you want?"

Elsa sighed. "I need your help in finding out who I am."

"Ooookay," Anna chuckled a bit awkwardly. "I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to help you with that."

"You were tasked with finding me, so you are a seeker of some sort are you not?" Elsa asked.

"That's one way to put it, sure," Anna shrugged.

"So if you help me, I can… pay you double the amount of what Miss Rosenthal is offering you."

Anna looked up in surprise. "Really?"

"Yes."

"How do I know you're good for it?" Anna asked.

She had already known that Elsa possessed actual paper books, so there was little reason to doubt that she had a considerable amount of wealth at her disposal. Still, she questioned Elsa for her own curiosity.

"Before I left VanirCorp, I stole a large sum of credits from Miss Rosenthal. That is why she wants to find me."

"Right," Anna muttered.

Elsa's statement had some merit to it, given the fact that Rosenthal had been cagey about Elsa to begin with and was reluctant to part with much information.

"So, even if I _did_ want to help you, how do you expect me to spend any of those credits when Rosenthal finds out I disobeyed her? The last thing I need right now is a vindictive corpo bitch coming after me."

"Please," Elsa said as she took a step towards Anna and clasped her hands together. "I have no other choice."

Anna peered at Elsa and furrowed her brows in thought. She seemed to be sincere and genuine in her need for help which flustered Anna at how realistic her emotions appeared to be. That, in addition to the fact that she had already saved her life and told her the truth of her nature even though she could have just easily lied was enough to make Anna seriously consider her request. Still, Anna had trouble looking past the fact that Elsa was apparently an android. She had never seen anything else like her and if Elsa was the future of the android race, Anna wanted to be no part of it.

"Well, no matter what, it looks like we're gonna be stuck together for a bit since those scavvers shot down my ride," Anna muttered as she pushed herself to her feet. "So we might as well- shit! Get away from the window!" she hissed as soon as she spotted a searchlight pass over the room.

She forcefully shoved Elsa to the opposite side across from her and pressed her own back against the wall. Carefully, Anna peered out and spotted several gunships moving slowly between the buildings as they pointed their searchlights around. Outside, dusk had fallen and a light drizzle fell from the sky. The air was eerily still and laced with static, the kind that comes before a large thunderstorm.

"Those are gangers," Anna muttered as she peeked around the side of the windowsill. "We better keep moving, this place is gonna be crawling with them," she said as she retreated further into the room and began making her way out.

"I shall follow your lead," Elsa said as she fell in step.

"Great, this is just great," Anna grumbled to herself. "Stuck in the flood zone babysitting an andy, can this day get any crappier?"

Once again, Anna didn't notice the hurt expression that passed over Elsa's face.

The odd pair walked in silence as they made their way through the ruined buildings of the flood zone. Anna kept a steady pace ahead and did not look back once to ensure that Elsa was still following her. Her appearance was distracting enough as it was and Anna was ashamed to admit that a small part of her was even attracted to Elsa as soon as she had seen her. As they pressed on, an endless amount of questions ran through Anna's mind.

_She's an android made from human parts. Are there more like her? She said she was a prototype, but why? Why was she created? To spy on humans, to walk and talk like us? Why does she need my help? What does she want? Did she even find Minerva?_

On and on these questions went through her mind, but it was neither the time nor place to discuss them as they continued forward, surrounded by danger as they were. Anna resolved to conduct a thorough interrogation as soon as they found a safe place to hole up.

… … ...

As night fell upon them, traversing the flood zone in the darkness soon became an incredibly hazardous task, more so than usual. In addition to the heavy rains that fell from the sky as the storm advanced upon them, Anna and Elsa were eventually forced to seek cover in an abandoned office building to wait out the weather.

"Here," Anna said as she opened a door to a derelict meeting room. "We can hunker down in here until the storm passes."

"Are you certain that it is safe?" Elsa asked.

Anna sighed and swept some dust aside with the toe of her boot. "Look, see that? Nobody's been here in ages, we'll be fine."

"Very well," Elsa said as she mimicked the same movement with her bare toe.

The small gesture was oddly endearing, and Anna couldn't help chuckling to herself a bit dryly as she observed her. When Elsa glanced up in curiosity, she managed to turn it into a dismissive 'hmph' sound.

"Pull up a chair," Anna said as she withdrew a seat from the meeting table and sat in it before kicking her legs up casually. "I've got some questions for you and I figure we aren't gonna be going anywhere for a while so we may as well talk some more."

"What do you wish to know?" Elsa said as she sat in the chair next to Anna.

She appeared to have an internal debate with herself about the placement of her feet as she shuffled around awkwardly, apparently having noticed Anna's casual demeanor and wishing to emulate it. After a few seconds, Elsa reached her decision and kept her feet planted squarely on the ground and placed her hands in her lap. She looked up and met Anna's unflinching gaze and smiled bashfully with a curiously bright look in her eyes.

The whole thing was frustratingly adorable, but Anna didn't do adorable. Not from an android. At least, that's what she told herself.

"First off, you said you were a prototype android. What kind exactly?" Anna asked.

"Enhanced Learning Systems Android. Model EXG7-00.1," Elsa reiterated. "In addition to my enhanced physical capabilities, I was also equipped with a brain, built from tissue samples, to learn and process as much information as I could."

_Equipped with a brain, Jesus,_ Anna thought sardonically to herself. _She really is an android._

"A learning bot," Anna nodded. "Are there any more like you?"

Elsa shook her head. "No. I was the only model that they produced, due to logistical constraints."

Anna cocked her head to the side. "Those being?"

"From my knowledge, the lack of suitable donors."

"Donors?"

"Yes. To provide the genetic blueprint from which I was based off from. It was not possible to create an artificial organic being without the usage of a human DNA sample."

"Right," Anna paused and looked away as a thought entered her mind. "When exactly were you created?"

"In the year 2086," Elsa replied.

Anna snapped up and frowned. "2086? Really?"

"Yes. Is there something significant about that year to you? You seem unsettled."

"No- nothing… it's nothing," Anna shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

Elsa was certainly perceptive, she had to give her that. 2086 was the same year that Nora had died.

Anna cleared her throat and pushed onward. "Rosenthal said you never left VanirCorp because of a condition you had. What is she talking about?"

Elsa pursed her lips and turned to the side. She remained silent for a long while and even seemed sad to Anna, stirring pity in her own cold heart that she adamantly refused to acknowledge.

"Yes," Elsa said quietly. "Ever since my creation, I have never been outside of the headquarters."

"This condition of yours, what is it exactly?"

"It is hard to explain… but I will try my best," Elsa said as she leaned back and shut her eyes.

When she opened them again, Anna saw a tremendous amount of depth behind them that she hadn't noticed before. There was a great amount of emotion in them but they seemed to be lined with sadness in a way. Anna only recognized it because she had seen that look in her own eyes every time she saw her reflection in the mirror. There was great pain in Elsa's eyes that one wouldn't notice at first, or even several glances afterward.

"My condition is a degenerative mental disorder that stems from the memories that I inherited from my donor. Over time, as I progress through each reset, I will begin to experience… flashes from the life of my donor," Elsa explained then sighed heavily. "Simply put, it is as if two different consciousnesses exist in my mind; that of my own and that of my donor's. This imbalance leads to cognitive dissociation and degradation of brain functions until complete mental collapse, followed by death, I imagine."

Anna had stiffened from her explanation and she felt a small pang of pain for Elsa. The way she had explained herself was so detached and clinical that she might as well have been describing the weather were it not for the fatal condition she was afflicted with. But even so, it was a lot to risk her neck over and Anna certainly did not want to attract the ire of VanirCorp. Their power was absolute and their reach was far and she knew she wouldn't be safe in New York anymore if she aided Elsa. Her only chance to get off-world and start anew was to fulfill the obligation set out to her by Matilda.

Slowly, she began to form a plan in her mind.

"So, you think if you can recover some of those memories about… who you were, then you might be able to cure your condition?" Anna asked. "Simple as that?"

"I believe so," Elsa nodded a hopeful glint had appeared in her eyes. "Will you help me?"

Anna looked away from Elsa, unable to meet her gaze. "For now. We're gonna have to stick together if we want to get out of the flood zone and I happen to know a guy who'd be perfect for the kind of thing that you have."

"Oh," Elsa deflated somewhat. "You do?"

"Yeah, totally," Anna nodded. "I go to him all the time for this sort of thing."

Elsa cocked her head and squinted at Anna for a moment, then nodded her agreement. "Very well," she said coolly.

"Great," Anna rose off the chair and stretched. "Well… I'm hungry so I'm gonna go poke around for something to eat. Is that… something that you do?"

"Eat?"

"Yeah, eat, drink… human stuff like that."

"Not as often as you would require due to my enhanced metabolism."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Of course. Well you can tag along, or don't. I don't care, just don't stray too far," she muttered as she walked out of the meeting room.

As Anna made her way through the empty cubicles, more questions began to swirl through her mind.

_Elsa talked about her donor, who was she? And what did she mean by resets?_

She heard the quiet shuffling of footsteps just behind her as Elsa followed along. Anna sighed deeply, slightly irritated by the persistent android and continued along.

_Whatever. I'm not sure I even want to know more about her. This whole thing stinks of shady corpo business and the sooner I get rid of her the better._


	12. Occam's Razor

* * *

After Elsa departed from Minerva, she hadn't had the slightest clue on where to even begin looking for the red-haired girl. She had begun making her way back across the flood zone and as luck would have it, the person she had been searching for practically fell from the sky in front of her. Though she was surprised to find that the girl was actually a woman, there was no mistaking that distinctive head of vibrant red hair.

In fact, Elsa was even more surprised by the ferocity with which V fought as she blasted the scavvers apart one by one. However, the force attacking her was overwhelming and Elsa knew she had to act. After she pulled V from the wreck and after she passed out, Elsa gently laid her in a safe spot and returned to deal with the scavvers. She ripped them apart with ease and Elsa felt no remorse for her actions as she had simply answered violence with the required amount of violence. By the same note, the act didn't give her pleasure either and Elsa even preferred to avoid it whenever possible. In that scenario, it wasn't possible.

She didn't know what to expect when she found V. The only thing that struck her was how beautiful she was. Elsa had expected to experience more flashes but the only thing she felt when she finally met V was a dull and persistent ache somewhere in her artificial heart that she had never felt before. It was a different sort of pain then the kind she was used to. It was panging and oddly yearning even though she still didn't know who V was.

The only thing she did know from their conversations so far was that V hated androids and Elsa was exactly that.

Still, for the time being, V agreed to help her even though Elsa had to lie to her to enlist her assistance. Truthfully, she didn't have the credits to pay V but she still didn't know just how she was supposed to learn more about herself through V. Elsa simply made a snap decision in the moment to stay with V as long as possible and see if anything returned to her memory and the only way to do that was to lie. She didn't feel good about it, especially given the fact that lying was still new to her, but V was her only chance and she couldn't afford to lose her.

After their brief discussion in the meeting room, Elsa followed along close behind V as they searched around the office building for food.

"Alright, Jesus, back up would you?" V said as she held up her hands and gestured for Elsa to move away. "You don't have to tail me everywhere we go, why don't you search on that side of the room," she pointed to some far cupboards of the cafeteria they had found.

"I am sorry," Elsa said sincerely as she backed away from V.

V was brusque and a bit rude to Elsa which must have stemmed from her hatred of androids. But it didn't explain why V's demeanor and comments were more off-putting to Elsa than the usual level of vitriol levelled at androids that she had witnessed in the city. Simply put, Elsa was hurt but she didn't understand that yet.

"Yeah, whatever," V waved her off and returned to emptying the cabinets in front of her. "Go on, maybe you'll find some batteries or something."

"Batteries?"

"Oh my god, it's a joke. Now would you please fuck off?"

Elsa nodded and made her way to the far side of the cafeteria. She opened the cupboards one by one and frowned as each one was empty save for some bent and rusted tin cans. Turning towards the kitchen, Elsa walked along the cold stoves and ovens when outside a flash of lightning and boom of thunder distracted her.

A wide smile spread across her face as Elsa bounced up towards a shattered window and held her hands out to feel the storm. She remembered seeing rain at VanirCorp, she remembered feeling it on her skin for the first time when she entered the city, but she had never experienced a thunderstorm before. It smelled of petrichor, mixed with the slightly acrid smell of urban decay. It tasted light and airy, slightly salted by the seawater. It felt buzzing and tingly, causing gooseflesh to appear across Elsa's arms which she relished. It was an incredible feeling of trapped and boundless energy that was being released all across the sky as arcs of lightning erupted across the flood zone.

After a while, Elsa pulled her arms back in and turned back into the cafeteria where she noticed V standing a small distance away, staring at her with an oddly strained expression on her face. As soon as their eyes met, V shook her head and scowled as she returned to her business.

Elsa frowned, and that feeling of hurt returned before she pushed it down and resumed her searching. _She is likely hungry, nothing more,_ she thought.

She turned her attention to the pantry, opening it and stepping in as she examined the empty shelves. Near the bottom, a pair of dull white containers caught her eye and Elsa knelt to examine them. It was two cups of instant ramen, chicken flavored. Elsa picked them both up and inspected the packaging. Both of them remained inside their plastic wrap and appeared to be untarnished and ready for consumption. She took them over to V and held them out before her with an eager smile on her face.

"I have found something," Elsa said.

V looked over her shoulder and then fully faced Elsa when she saw what she was holding. "Ramen," she said as she took them both in her hands. "My favorite…"

"I believe that they are still edible," Elsa added.

"What, these things? This shit will last forever," V said then went over to a nearby window dripping with rainwater. "I'll cook these up, go and see if you can find some forks or chopsticks or something."

Elsa cocked her head curiously. "Chopsticks?" she asked.

"Yeah those two little… sticks you use to eat noodles- wait, have you never used chopsticks before?"

Elsa shrugged her shoulders and peered at V innocently.

V sighed and turned back toward preparing their meal. "Just… find something that we can use to eat with, alright?"

"Very well," Elsa said as she turned and made her way back towards the kitchen.

After rooting around through several different drawers, she eventually found a tray filled with all sorts of thin, plastic sticks. She pawed through a few of them, then turned back towards V who had now set aside the steaming cups of ramen as she wafted their scent towards her nose with a small smile on her face.

"Chopsticks," Elsa said to herself.

She wasn't sure how many V would require and she was even less sure of how she was supposed to eat with them, so, she picked up the entire tray and carried it over.

"Oh, you found them. Good," V said as she set their food upon a cafeteria table and sat down, then noticed the pile of chopsticks that Elsa had brought her. "You didn't have to- you know what, never mind."

"These are chopsticks?" Elsa asked as she sat across from V, now being more mindful of her space.

"Uh huh."

Elsa watched with a bright spark in her eyes as V took two of the utensils and placed them in her fingers before deftly manipulating them to pick up a few strands of noodles. She then gently blew on them before placing them in her mouth.

"Mmm," V sighed and continued eating.

Feeling a bit peckish now herself, Elsa leaned down and gently sniffed the aroma of her noodles. As soon as the scent registered inside her brain, she was hit by a nauseating wave of pain that clouded her senses. In her mind, she saw the interior of a dark room or chamber of some kind. Sitting across from her was the red-haired girl, V, except she was much younger than she was now. She hadn't ever recalled one of her previous memories so vividly and strongly before, which shocked Elsa to her core.

"Are you… okay?" V asked, snapping her out of her memory.

"Pardon me?" Elsa asked as she returned her gaze to V.

"Your nose," V gestured to her own. "It's bleeding."

Elsa reached two fingers up to the space between her nostrils and upper lip and when she pulled them away, they were covered with a thin sheen of blood. It wasn't the first time something like that had ever happened, but then again, Elsa could never remember when they did since her mind had been wiped so many times.

"Oh, that is… odd," Elsa replied as she wiped the rest of the blood from her nose away with the back of her hand. "You need not fear. It should only be a temporary setback," she lied.

"If you say so," V muttered as she let her gaze linger on Elsa a moment longer before returning to her meal.

Rather than say anything else in the moment, Elsa kept silent. The feeling was highly disconcerting to say the least but still, she took it to be a good sign. Elsa wasn't quite sure what to make of it yet and until she learned more about herself or recovered another memory, she elected not to inform V about their connection with one another even though the exact nature of that connection was still unknown. Even if she did, how could Elsa explain it to V if she herself didn't understand it? Until Elsa knew more for certain, she would have to keep it to herself.

Carefully, Elsa picked up two of her own chopsticks and attempted to mimic V's movement. She placed them in her fingers just as she had, but she had trouble in picking up the noodles as they would keep slipping from the ends or the chopsticks would roll out of her fingers. Elsa carried on like this for a few minutes, poking and prodding at her noodles but never succeeding in grabbing a bunch like V had.

"Y- you don't hold them like that," V said when she eventually noticed Elsa's struggles.

"No?" Elsa frowned. "How do you use these utensils?"

"Oh boy… okay, look. See how I'm holding them?" V said as she raised her hand and showed Elsa her grip on the chopsticks. "Everybody has a different way of doing it, but this is how I hold them. You place the top one here," she turned her hand over to show how the top chopstick was placed between her thumb, index finger, and middle finger. "And you hold the bottom one down here, like this," she showed the one that was placed on the top one between her thumb, ring finger, and middle finger. "And then, when you want to grab something you just sort of slide your middle finger in and out to make the ends pinch together," she demonstrated her final point by grabbing a strand of noodles and placing them in her mouth with a slurp.

"Ah," Elsa nodded then adjusted her grip on the chopsticks. "I see."

Bearing V's lesson in mind, Elsa did as she was instructed and after some time of trial and error, she eventually succeeded. She then slurped them up just as V had with a surprised, "oop!" when the strand of noodles smacked against her chin.

"Huh, picked that up faster than I did," V muttered quietly.

Elsa chewed her noodles which were soft and savory, flavored by the slightly spicy broth. It wasn't anything else like she had eaten before and she thought it was delicious. At VanirCorp, she was always given sustenance paste for meals. As they ate in silence, Elsa delighted in each time she slurped up the noodles while V would occasionally look at her as if she were an alien.

"Let me ask you something," V started. "You haven't really… talked to many people have you?"

"No. The only person I ever spoke to was Miss Rosenthal," Elsa replied. "And my friend, Theodore."

"Your friend?"

"Yes. He helped me escape from VanirCorp."

"Where is he now?"

"Off-world, I hope. They would have killed him if they found him, so he had to flee as well."

"Hmm," V shrugged then picked up her cup and downed the rest of the broth with an easy swig, after which she tossed the cup over her shoulder. Just then, her stomach growled rather loudly, causing V to peer down and mutter to herself. "Shut up, I just fed you, alright?"

Elsa frowned and peered down into her own cup. About half of the noodles remained, but her hunger was satisfied in any case. Her metabolism made it so that she didn't have to eat as often or as much as an ordinary human being would.

"Here," Elsa said as she extended her hand and pushed her cup over to V. "You may have the rest of mine."

V snapped up and fixed Elsa with a surprised look. "What? You're not gonna eat that?"

"I am not hungry."

A strange look passed over V's face as if she had seen a ghost, then her expression changed as she narrowed her brows in suspicion. "Really?" she asked.

"Yes," Elsa smiled softly. "You are hungry. Your stomach said as much."

V blinked twice. "Is that supposed to be a joke?" she asked as she extended her hand and took hold of the noodle cup.

"I do not joke," Elsa smiled a little more widely, cuing V into the fact that she actually had made an attempt at humor.

"Well, um… okay," V said softly while a pained look briefly flashed across her face.

With that, V wolfed down the remainder of the noodles while Elsa looked on with a pleasant expression on her face.

After she was finished eating, V dispensed of the container in the same manner as the first then rose from the table while she stretched and yawned. "Well, I'm pooped."

Elsa looked up in alarm. "You need to use the restroom?"

"What? N- no, it's just a saying, it means you're tired."

"Oh. I see," Elsa nodded and repeated the phrase to herself. "Pooped," she smiled innocently.

"Yeah, tired. You know, like sleepy?" V placed a hand on her hip and fixed Elsa with a curious gaze. "Do you rest or sleep or whatever?"

"Not in the sense that _you_ mean."

"That was the greatest non-answer I've ever heard," V muttered to herself. "Whatever, then you won't mind taking the first watch then will you? Make sure nothing creeps up on me in the middle of the night?"

Elsa rose from her seat, nodding her head. "I can do that."

"Good," V said, and with that she started making her way out of the cafeteria without as much as a second glance back at Elsa.

As for Elsa, she followed a respectable distance behind V as per her request. The pair didn't speak at all as they made their back to the meeting room where they would sojourn for the night. Meanwhile, the thunderstorm outside continued to rage as the building around them audibly groaned from the high winds. When they entered the meeting room, V immediately made for the corner furthest away from the door and set down a couple of seat cushions to use as pillows. Next, she removed her long-coat and laid on the ground on her back, using it as a blanket.

"Just so you know, I sleep with a gun close by. So only wake me if there's trouble otherwise you might get shot," V mumbled tiredly as she yawned and stretched.

"Understood," Elsa said.

While V rested for the night, Elsa took up a position a short distance away and sat in a chair by the large glass window, observing the silent city beyond. Several minutes passed by in complete silence with only the sound of the storm outside for company. Alone with her thoughts, Elsa reviewed what had gone over that day.

She had left Minerva, intending to find V and she did. Already in their short time together, Elsa experienced a new memory that was different from all the rest she could recall. It was more clear to her than ever before and she knew that something about V had triggered it. She surmised then that the longer they stayed together, the greater the likelihood that Elsa would begin to recover from her condition.

 _I wonder who she is,_ Elsa thought as she observed a whiplash of lightning outside. _Perhaps I am connected to her in some way, but why does she hate androids? Was she wronged somehow?_

It was then that Elsa realized just how little she knew of V. She had told her much about herself already, but V had decidedly revealed virtually nothing about herself. A soft whimper caught Elsa's ear and she turned over in the direction where V was apparently sleeping. Silence ensued, followed shortly after by some sniffling and shaky breathing. Perhaps she had misheard, but Elsa thought that V might have been crying.

"Are you alright, V?" Elsa asked softly.

"It's nothing!" V shot back without looking at Elsa. "Just… just leave me alone."

Elsa turned away from V and gazed out the window once more. Over time, V's soft weeping became less and less audible as her breathing evened out and sleep overtook her. She tossed and turned restlessly for a long while as if in a nightmare and Elsa thought that V might have mumbled something in her sleep. It wasn't clear what she said, but it sounded like a name.

Eventually, V fell still and silent while Elsa continued to watch the rain fall down outside.

… … …

A few hours later, morning had come and Elsa had still not moved just as V had not stirred from her sleep. The day was just beginning to break, as the hidden sun peeked up from below the horizon of clouds and desperately tried to shine through to chase the shadow of night westward.

At the other end of the room, V was snoring rather loudly and her body was positioned in such a way that Elsa could not possibly understand how it was comfortable nor how she had ended up like that in the first place. Aside from the sounds of her sleeping, nothing else stirred inside the flood zone until Elsa heard some distant voices coming from somewhere within the office building.

Rising to action immediately, Elsa went over to V and knelt down to pat her on the shoulder gently, remembering her warning about being roused from her sleep. "V? Wake up. Someone is coming."

"Hrng, fivmorminits," V muttered as she rolled over away from Elsa.

Elsa sighed and nudged her a little more urgently. The voices were getting nearer.

"V, you need to wake up."

"He he," V giggled in her sleep. "Nora, that tickles" she mumbled.

Elsa had heard her clearly that time and then she was sure that was the same name V had mumbled during the night as she slept. A buzzing pain similar to the kind she felt last night washed over her head and again, her nose began to bleed.

 _Who is Nora?_ Elsa wondered. _Why does V say her name as she sleeps?_

She couldn't devote much thought to it any further as her head swam with pain at the mere repetition of the name, forcing Elsa to blink repeatedly and breathe in and out at a steady pace until she returned to reality. Not that she would have had much further time to consider it as the voices were now nearly upon them and Elsa knew they had to move or be discovered.

"V!" Elsa hissed as she gently shook her. "Wake up!"

"Huh! Whozzat!" V exclaimed as she shot up from her sleep and took aim with her hand cannon past Elsa's head.

Elsa backed away a bit to give V space as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "It is me, Elsa," she said. "You must wake, people are coming."

"People?" V rose to her feet and donned her long-coat. "Why the hell didn't you wake me sooner?"

"I tried. You are a heavy sleeper."

V shook her head. "Shit, guess that's my fault," she rose to her feet and donned her long-coat. "Come on then, we can't stay here."

"What shall we do?" Elsa asked.

"Just… follow me," V sighed as she brushed past Elsa and motioned for her to come along.

She paused at the edge just before the open doorway to the meeting room then crouched and narrowed her eyes in focus. Just on the other side, they could hear two voices speaking to one another as they rooted around through the cubicles on their floor of the office building.

"Hmm, sounds like there's just two of them," V whispered to herself then turned back to face Elsa. "They don't know we're here either, at least not yet. Alright, just stick close to me, follow my lead, and move slow and low, you got that?"

Elsa frowned. "You said to maintain a greater distance from yourself and not to always follow you around."

"Shit, I said that too," V grumbled. "Look, just for now… you can do the opposite of that."

"Understood," Elsa nodded eagerly, somewhat excited that V was lifting her space restriction even if it was only temporary.

"Okay then, let's go."

With that, the pair slipped silently out of the meeting room towards a stack of overturned filing cabinets which they used for cover to survey the office space. Ahead of them, speaking to each other and unaware of their presence were two scavvers picking through the remains.

"Did ya hear what happened down Broadway?"

"No, what?"

"Big ol' gunfight. Razor's crew brought down a skycar, tried to snag this redhead inside when some other gal ripped 'em to shreds."

"Fuckin hell, really?"

"Yeah, now Razor's out for blood. Called a truce with Mauler until we can find those two and bring 'em in."

"Is that why he's got us searching this place? We've picked this building clean already."

"Let's just stay here a little longer before we get back to the others, tell 'em we ain't found anything."

"Yeah, roj. Sounds good to me. '

V peeked over and scanned the room quickly before ducking back down. "Wonder what they want," she whispered.

"I believe they intend to cause us harm," Elsa replied quietly.

"Or just you. Did you really do that?"

"Do what?"

"Rip a bunch of them to shreds."

"Yes. They were trying to kill you."

"Hmph," V stared blankly at Elsa for a few seconds then peeked over their cover once more to assess their situation. "Alright, it's just the two of them, but they're blocking our way out. We're gonna have to take em out."

"Take them out?"

"Yeah, like kill them. Quietly."

"Must we kill them?" Elsa protested.

V looked back at her with a hard expression. "What do you think is gonna happen if they find us?"

Seeing her point, Elsa nodded her reluctant agreement.

Together, they crept over behind a row of cubicles a short distance from the scavvers. The two of them were standing on opposite sides as they had stopped talking and continued their looting in silence. If they were to be taken out, Elsa and V would have to split up and do so simultaneously.

"Alright, I'll take the left one," V said then pointed over to an overturned desk nearby the second scavver. "You head over there and on my go, take out that guy on the right.

V broke off immediately, leaving Elsa to head over to the right as she had instructed. From her new position, she could see V hidden from sight just within reach of the first scavver who remained unaware of her presence. Elsa waited until V nodded to her and watched for a second as she sprung up and seized the man in a surprise chokehold. At the same time, Elsa did as V had done and seized the scavver in front of her quickly by the head before turning it sharply to the side, snapping it with a crunch and killing him instantly.

On the other side, V struggled with her foe for a second before she reached for a nearby piece of rubble and used it to jab the man in his throat, crushing his windpipe. As he fell to his knees choking and wheezing, she flipped the piece of rubble in her grip and brought the sharp end crashing down on the back of his head, killing him by brutally caving in the back of his skull with a wet squelch.

"Alright," V huffed as she tossed her improvised weapon aside. "I don't hear any more of them so we should be clear for now. Come on, let's move."

Wordlessly, Elsa followed along and as the pair made their way through the office building, they were forced to lower ground as passage to the upper floors were blocked. The office building they had stayed in was connected to a hotel that they entered through an adjoining boardwalk. From there, they dropped through a window down into the lobby of a once grand and luxurious hotel lobby, now flooded with knee high water. All around them, mold, mildew, and moss had grown like wildfire across gilded columns and an intricately designed vaulted ceiling. Ragged looking weeds poked up from the swampy muck they now trudged through. Pale shafts of early morning sunlight peeked through the tall windows overlooking the lobby, bathing the entire space in a warm glow.

Elsa gazed about in awe. Compared to the sleek and refined interiors at VanirCorp, this hotel was a testament to old world beauty that had been lost in the collapse. The view of it even in its ruined and abandoned state, was still mystifying. Meanwhile, V kept her visage impassive and stony as they waded through the lobby.

"What is this place?" Elsa asked.

"A hotel," V replied. "Or what used to be one."

"A hotel?"

"It's like… how do I explain this. A hotel is like a place where a lot of people could stay temporarily. They would offer rooms and lodging to travelers for them to live in for a short while, I guess."

"Do you live in a place like this?"

"No," V chuckled dryly. "No, this place is a bit too rich for my blood. I live in a shitty apartment just like a lot of other people in this city. Well... honestly, it's actually not that bad all things considered. Still not as good as this place."

"It is a shame," Elsa said wistfully. "This is a beautiful place," she returned her gaze to V and noticed that she was looking at her with that familiar faraway expression on her face.

"Hmph," V crossed her arms. "Sure. All it needs is a little spitshine, a little elbow grease to clean it up and it'll look grand spanking new!"

Elsa frowned at V's odd idioms. "I do not understand."

"It's sarcasm," V replied bluntly.

"What is sarcasm?"

"Oh, for fuck's sake," V rubbed her temples. "Look, enough questions for now, alright? You're giving me a headache."

"I am sorry," Elsa apologized sincerely.

She had many questions about the new world, but she decided they could wait. Elsa didn't want to cause V any undue stress any more than she already had. V had briefly paused in her step at Elsa apology, then shook her head and muttered something beneath her breath before continuing on.

The pair made their way to a moss covered staircase, ascending it above the waterline where V shook off some of the muck from her boots. There, they explored the upper floor of the hotel lobby and found that the rest of the stairwells that led further into the building had been either destroyed or blocked. Their only access point to the upper floors was an elevator whose doors had been pried open, leading to the dark and empty shaft. A dark pool of stagnant water lay below that was certainly deep enough to drown in if they plunged into it

"Scavvers must use this to get up to higher ground," V muttered as she peeked down and up the elevator shaft. "But how? I don't see a… oh, hello,"

Off to the side of the adjacent shaft was an elevator car that was stuck on the floor below them. It was rusted in place and partially submerged, but appeared sturdy enough that they could stand upon it to reach a ladder that led to the upper floors.

V went over to the elevator doors to the side and attempted to pry them open. "Hnngh! Come on… budge! Damn, it's jammed tight."

"Allow me," Elsa said as she stepped up next to V.

V huffed and retreated a few paces. "Be my guest," she placed her hands on her hips and watched on.

Elsa wedged her fingers in between the seam. Then, with an easy movement she forced the doors apart.

"Huh, stronger than you look," V muttered.

"There, we may proceed," Elsa said with a satisfied smile as she stepped to the side politely and gestured her through.

V gazed at Elsa for a moment then simply shrugged and entered the shaft. As she stepped out onto the top of the elevator, the entire thing shifted and groaned, causing her to leap back in fright.

"Uh… on second thought, why don't you go first," V said. "You know, just to make sure it's clear up there."

Elsa nodded. "Of course."

Carefully, she walked onto the top of the elevator which protested again but remained stuck in place. Slowly she ascended the rungs of the ladders until she reached the floor above them where the elevators doors were already open. Once she pulled herself up onto the landing, Elsa gave a slow and methodical glance around to ensure that it was safe.

"You may come up," Elsa said as she poked her head out into the shaft and found V below staring up at her. "It is safe."

"Okay, here goes," V murmured as she gingerly stepped out.

The elevator buckled slightly, causing V to stumble towards the ladder and cling to it for dear life as the elevator descended a few feet. Once it had settled once more, V breathed a sigh of relief and continued her ascent. As she reached the top, Elsa held her hand out to provide assistance, which V ignored as she pulled herself up to the landing and casually brushed off her clothing.

"Are you alright?" Elsa asked.

V straightened up immediately and walked ahead without glancing back at Elsa. "Mmhmm, super. Come on, I think I know the way back from here."

Elsa let her hand fall limply to her side then fell in step a small distance behind V, wondering all the while if she was being sarcastic again.


	13. Sarcasm for Beginners

* * *

"So… what did you find at Minerva?" Anna asked as she rounded a corner and started down a long hallway, occasionally peeking into empty rooms for anything of use.

They had been walking now for some time in silence which was becoming aggravating to Anna. She decided against her better judgement to learn more about the mysterious woman, if only to ease her boredom.

Elsa glanced up at Anna and peered at her with her round and innocent doe-eyes. She had already seen that look plenty of times now and it was getting more and more aggravatingly adorable which honestly surprised Anna.

"Minerva?" Elsa asked.

"That's what I said," Anna replied. "I know you were looking for it, you left a pretty memorable impression back there in the village. Also met another friend of yours. Lizzie?"

"I see."

"So?"

"They were… not as helpful as I had hoped."

"The andys couldn't help you get your memories back?"

"Only what I already knew about myself, though I was able to fill in some blanks, I suppose."

"Like what?"

"That I was repeatedly tortured to erase all traces of my former self, then reset with a blank slate of implanted memories."

Anna nearly stumbled over from the sheer weight of that sentence alone. Elsa had delivered it so nonchalantly and in such a detached manner that she thought that she might have been playing a joke, which she apparently was capable of doing. That much Anna already knew, from the small one that Elsa had played as they ate their supper last night.

"Sorry," Anna started as she turned over and faced Elsa. "There's just… a lot to unpack there. You said you were tortured?"

"Yes," Elsa replied softly. "Through what they call FMR therapy."

"I think I'm gonna regret this, but what's FMR therapy?"

"It means Forced Memory Repression. To forestall the development of my condition, I was routinely subjected to a machine that would focus on specific memories while delivering painful electric shocks throughout my body. The intention is that the repeated pain becomes attached to those specific memories, thereby activating the brain's natural inclination to repress traumatic events."

"Jesus… that sounds awful," Anna shook her head in disbelief. "D- did it… was it bad?"

Even she had to admit that such a thing was cruel and horrifying. When Anna glanced at Elsa and saw that she appeared to be quite pensive, she felt conflicted then and preferred to squash those feelings down.

_I'm too sober for this. God, I could really use a drink right now._

"It was… unpleasant," Elsa said evenly.

"You mentioned resets before, but you also said… implanted memories?" Anna pointed at Elsa's head. "What do you mean?"

"Following a session of FMR therapy, the research team at VanirCorp would perform a complete and total wipe of my mind as a safety measure to erase any further memories that could possibly conflict with one another. As for the implanted memories, they would provide me with fabricated ones in an effort to make me believe that I was human."

 _Make you believe you're human, my god… that's just… wrong,_ Anna shuddered from the thought.

"The longer I believed that I was human, the longer it would delay the development my condition," Elsa said matter-of-factly.

"But you know you're not human, so then does that mean you'll die soon?" Anna asked.

"That is what I fear."

"So you're afraid of it? Dying, I mean."

"In a way, I have already died. But yes, I… am afraid."

Even if she hated androids, Anna felt sympathy for Elsa. Nobody deserved to go through what she had and the more Anna learned about her the more she could see why Elsa wanted to leave VanirCorp. To be tortured until you no longer remembered who you were, to have your entire identity robbed, and to have your mind wiped over and over again horrified Anna. Even if she sometimes wished she could forget everything, a smaller part of her cherished what little happy memories she had, for at least she knew they had happened and that at one point in her life she had something real.

That small part of her had died alongside Nora, leaving in its wake an empty void in the husk of Anna's life that she had filled with bitter cynicism and alcohol.

_But what can I do about this? She's an andy and I'm one person. This… this is not my problem. Remember what you came out here to do, Anna. Find Elsa, bring her home, get paid, and get the fuck off this planet. That's all that matters._

Anna hardened her resolve and ignored the odd feeling of unrest in her heart. She had spent so many years closing her heart to the world after Nora had died. Nora was the only person that gave Anna's life any meaning and after she died, Anna became hopelessly lost. She turned to drink, just as her father had and even then it only served to deepen the pain and loss she felt. It was an odd thing; Anna would give anything to forget about her past and Elsa would give anything to remember it.

"Look, that's… well that's just awful," Anna said. "Why did they even make you at all if that's what they were going to do to you?"

"Because they wanted to push the limits of what my mind could take," Elsa replied. "I was their experiment with memory implantation, alteration, and retention. By repeatedly wiping my mind and seeing what else I could learn, I provided them with results."

"And your donor? What happened to her?

"I do not know," Elsa said sadly. "That is what I am trying to learn."

Anna furrowed her brows. "But you think she's… a part of you somehow?"

"She must be. Otherwise I would not be able to experience the flashes that I feel."

"What do you feel?"

Elsa glanced off to the side for a long moment in consideration of her response. "Images mostly. Sometimes I hear, or feel a sensation but they are never clear. They always come to me when I dream."

Anna perked up in surprise. "You can dream?

"Yes," Elsa replied as a sad smile crossed her face.

"What are they like?"

A pain look flashed across her face and for several moments, it seemed that Elsa was avoiding Anna's searchful gaze. "I… am afraid I cannot remember," she said.

Anna sensed that Elsa wasn't being entirely truthful. If she could recall being tortured over and over again because of the memories she had, then it certainly seemed reasonable that she would also be able to recall her dreams as well. Even so, this was all uncharted territory for Anna and for the time being, she gave her the benefit of the doubt.

"As I progress through a reset, I eventually begin to dream with more frequency. Unfortunately, they speed my condition along thereby necessitating FMR therapy," Elsa continued.

"Just how many times have you been reset?"

"Since my creation in 2086, I have been through one hundred and forty four resets, or sequences as they call them. This has been my longest one so far."

"And they tortured you every time?

"Yes," Elsa said, becoming several shades paler. "A single session of FMR therapy would ordinarily last a few hours."

 _Don't feel it. This is bigger than you,_ Anna thought as she noticed the slight tremble in Elsa's voice. _Just get her to K, he's the only one who can help her. This isn't your problem._

Over and over Anna repeated that to herself, lying to make herself feel better even if she knew it wouldn't work. The truth was simply too awful and horrifying to confront. Just thinking it over gave rise to doubts in Anna's mind about her purpose with Elsa and so she shut it out. She hoped it would be easier that way to do what she was planning to do.

 _Nora would have helped her,_ a small voice protested inside Anna's mind.

 _Nora is gone,_ Anna countered as she quashed that feeling of doubt. _She's been dead a long time and she can't help anybody._

Still, that small part of Anna argued that Elsa was a living, breathing human with complex thoughts, emotions, and memories. That much was already clear in their short time together and Elsa seemed truly genuine in her single-minded pursuit to discover who she was. She was like a pure flower, trampled upon and sent into the world all wide-eyed and innocent. Anna had witnessed a small part of that bright curiosity last night when she saw Elsa delighting in the touch of rain on her skin as she immersed herself in the feel of a thunderstorm.

Anna wondered just how much of the world had been kept away from Elsa to give her such a vicarious desire to learn and experience everything in it. It was endearing and irritatingly heartwarming in a way that Anna wished she didn't feel. To her, Elsa seemed like hope, something that Anna herself had lived without for over half her life now. But she knew it could not last. Nothing good in this world stayed that way for long, she knew that much from experience. If she got attached to Elsa, it would only lead to pain at the end. Everything she had ever done was always to protect herself after Nora died. It was simply too agonizing to feel again, so she shut herself down and closed her heart to the world.

_It's better this way. I can't help her, even if I wanted to._

"So," Anna started, eager to change the subject to more lighter topics. "Lizzie? She's nice."

Elsa perked up as well. "Yes, she is."

"I don't suppose we can go back the way she showed you, can we?"

"I do not wish to endanger her."

"I can understand that, she's a good kid. I saw the books you gave her. Real paper must have been hard to come by."

"Yes. Reading was one of the only pleasures I had at VanirCorp when I was alone."

 _Okay, that turned back to depressing really quick._ _Jesus, her life is… what kinda mess have I gotten myself into?_

After several more minutes of walking in silence, Elsa asked Anna a question, which despite her earlier annoyance with them, she permitted in light of everything Elsa had just revealed.

"Where are we going?"

Anna thought it over. "Since we can't fly out of the flood zone, we'll have to get back into the city the old fashioned way by walking. Luckily, I know a spot where we can get back in. It's kind of out of the way so we should have no trouble when we get there."

The place she was referring to was in fact Asimov Station where Nora had been killed. The transport hub had become abandoned and defunct in the time following her death, allowing Anna to visit her grave each year with no trouble from any humans or androids. It lay on the western banks of Manhattan, just beyond the seawalls.

"How far away is it?"

"We'll probably get there by nightfall, as long as we can make good time."

"V, what is it that you do for a living?"

"I'm a, err, well I guess you could say I'm a private detective of sorts. People usually come to me to dig up dirt on their enemies or whenever someone wants to expose someone else's dirty secrets. I find things, basically. Things that are hidden or things that people don't want found.

"Do you usually find people?"

"No… no this is a first for me. Information is what people come to me for."

"I see."

Anna sensed that Elsa was about to ask another question, but for whatever reason she had decided to withhold it. They continued making their way through the ruined splendor of the hotel, passing through rooms and searching for any useful supplies on their short journey.

Eventually they came upon a series of rooms where a group of voices could be heard talking among themselves. From the sound of it, they were more scavvers. Anna turned to Elsa and pressed a finger to her lips, urging caution as she lowered herself into a crouch and took cover near an overturned vending machine. Up ahead, a group of them were searching through the rooms or roaming the empty hallways.

"Oi, found anything over there?"

"Nah, just bits of junk. Not even worth the scrap."

"Shite," one scavver audibly sighed. "You think those two came through here?"

"Don't know, but Wresh found two of our crew dead back a ways. Might be they'll come through here soon enough."

"Yeah, I hope they do."

Anna scowled and looked over her shoulder to Elsa, who was hiding next to her. "They're expecting us. I don't think we can slip past them either."

"What do you suggest?" Elsa asked.

"Take them out, one by one. Quiet, like last time. Follow my lead."

Anna quickly slipped out from their cover and crept her way into an adjacent hotel room, followed by Elsa. There, Anna paused and listened intently as a single pair of footsteps shuffled into the room on the other side of the shared wall. Ahead of them lay an open window that led out onto an enclosed rooftop space. Creeping towards it, Anna peeked over the window's edge to ensure the rooftop was clear before vaulting over and peering into the next room.

There, a lone scavver had his back turned to Anna as he rifled through a wardrobe muttering incoherently to himself and was completely oblivious to his surroundings. Silently, Anna picked up a jagged shard of glass and crept up behind him before plunging it into the soft flesh of his neck, piercing his jugular vein. The piece of glass broke off partially in his neck and Anna used the remaining half to slash his throat as he fell to his knees and collapsed to the floor. He choked and gurgled on his blood that rapidly pooled around him before he died.

She glanced backward for a moment and happened to catch Elsa's gaze, who was looking at her with a worried look on her face.

Anna quickly turned back around and busied herself with wiping the blood from her hand off on the clothing of the dead scavver at her feet. As she did, she took a moment to pat his pockets to search for anything useful and came up with a few bullets that were in the wrong caliber for her hand cannon. Still, she took them anyways as she could always trade them in the city later and with that, she carried on.

Elsa lagged a small distance behind, carefully stepping over the pool of blood before joining Anna as she quickly peeked out into the hallway. At the far end lay some sort of ballroom while at the opposite side a group of scavvers were roaming the hallways. A single one broke off from the group, whistling a jaunty tune as he ambled over in their direction.

"Oh, shit," Anna whispered as she ducked back into the room, narrowly avoiding detection.

They waited until his whistling was right on top of them, then Anna leapt out and seized the man in a choke hold while striking him on the back of his head with her hand cannon. The scavver released a choke gasp of pain, just quiet enough that his companions didn't hear him as they passed beyond sight.

"Agh, who the-!" the scavver gasped as he felt the weapon against his head and ceased struggling.

"Shut up," Anna hissed. "Keep quiet or I'll blow your fucking head off."

Down the hallway, another scavver poked his around the corner. "Hey, you find anything down the-"

"Over here!" the scavver in Anna's grasp shouted as he rammed his elbow into her side, opening up her grip. "She's got a gun!"

"Fuck!" Anna shouted as she immediately shot and killed the scavver in front of her, plastering his brains all over the wall to her left.

Then, using his corpse as a shield, Anna aimed and fired at the other scavver down the hallway, dropping him with a shot to his chest.

"Woah, woah! What the fuck was that!"

"It's the tourists! Go, go!"

Anna ducked and ran into another room, closely followed behind by Elsa where they took cover behind an overturned wardrobe.

"Where'd they go!"

"Fan out and look for 'em!"

"Shit, they've already killed three of our guys."

"They're gonna fuckin' pay."

Safe for only a moment, Anna turned to Elsa and whisper-yelled at her. "Were you just gonna gawk at me all day, or do you plan on helping at any point!?"

"What do you need me to do?" Elsa whispered hurriedly.

Anna sighed and rubbed some of the sweat off her forehead with her sleeve. "Just… keep them distracted so they're not all on my back. We need to draw them into the open somehow."

Elsa nodded then glanced around until she spotted a loose brick before picking it up and hefting it in her hands. "I can do that," she said firmly as she held the brick in her grasp.

"Alright," Anna whispered. "This way, follow me."

Together, they snuck over into the other room through the adjoining door and paused at the threshold before a wide and open elevator lobby. There, they spotted another two scavvers crouching behind some barrels as they attempted to set up an ambush.

Anna pressed her back against the wall, then quickly leaned out and shot the closest one dead. As soon as her gunshot echoed out, the second one ducked beneath his cover while firing blindly with his sidearm.

"She's over here!" he shouted.

Aiming at where she guessed he would be, Anna placed two shots directly into the barrels to pierce through the flimsy metal. A pained gurgle was the only sound that the hiding scavver made as his blood splattered the wall behind him. A moment later, a third scavver appeared holding a scattergun aimed directly at Anna. A volley of bolts was unleashed, peppering the wall with superheated plasma that left scorch marks which burned with acrid smoke. Anna ducked out of the way in time and retaliated by firing another round over the side before it clicked empty several times, reporting an empty cylinder.

"Ha!" the scavver taunted as he advanced on Anna's position. "I know that sound. You're dead!"

"Goddamnit!" Anna muttered as she hurriedly reloaded her hand cannon. She glanced around and when she didn't find Elsa she cursed once more. "Elsa, where the fuck did you-!"

"Over here!" Elsa shouted from some unseen position shortly before she hurled a brick directly at the scavver's head.

As he recoiled in pain and shielded his face, Anna seized the opportunity to rush forward, picking up a lead pipe on the floor along the way. With her forward momentum, Anna swung out the blunt object with all her might and brought it crashing against the side of the scavver's head at the same moment he exposed it to look around. Metal met flesh with a sickening crunch as the pipe struck him, knocking him swiftly to the ground where Anna finished him off with another overhead blow to the head, caving his face in.

"Damn," Anna tossed the pipe aside and bent over to catch her breath. "Whew, that was intense," she looked up and found Elsa who emerged from a nearby room.

"Are you alright?" Elsa asked, pure concern in her eyes.

Anna scowled and shrugged off her question. "Would be better if you had distracted him sooner."

Elsa blinked and shrunk a little in shame, then looked around. "I believe that is all of them."

"Uh huh," Anna sighed and reloaded her hand cannon before setting off. "I think I saw an exit over there," she said as pointed towards the direction of the ballroom.

With their foes dispatched, Anna tucked her weapon back in her waistband behind her back and with Elsa in tow, they made their way over. Upon entering the large and spacious area, they found themselves upon a balcony overlooking the ballroom where Anna spotted their exit through a smashed window with a pile of crates that led up towards it.

"There it is," Anna pointed. "We should be able to-"

"You motherfucker!"

A scavver shouted as he burst through a side entrance and tackled Anna, sending them flying over the balcony down to the ballroom floor below. As they crashed onto the floor, they rolled apart from each other giving Anna just a moment to retaliate.

"V!" Elsa shouted in alarm from above.

Meanwhile, Anna reached for her weapon and drew it when it was kicked out of her hands, flying over to a shallow pool of water that had formed in a depression of the floor.

"Got you now!" the scavver hissed as he advanced on Anna.

This one was different from the others and Anna could see that his arms were enhanced with implants that bulged with blue lines of energy beneath his skin. Anna turned and scrambled over to the pool where her weapon had dropped in an attempt to retrieve it, when she felt a strong hand flip her over and push her into the water on her back, pinning her down by her neck. Her vision clouded immediately and Anna held onto what little air remained in her lungs while she struggled against the scavvers grip. She could see him grinning maniacally and when his strength proved too strong to overcome, Anna turned her head to the side and desperately reached for her hand cannon which lay just beyond her grasp.

Anna's lungs began to burn for air and a few bubbles escaped from her mouth as she fought with all her strength to reach her weapon. Soon, her vision began to turn black and she thought just for a moment that she was going to die then and there. Then, a pale hand plunged into the water, picked up her weapon and the head of the scavver holding her down was suddenly blown apart. Anna sprung up immediately, coughing up water while she pushed the corpse off of her and when she looked up, she saw Elsa holding her smoking gun.

"That was close," Elsa said then extended a hand towards Anna to help her up.

Anna angrily batted Elsa's hand away. "Give me that," she hissed as she snatched her hand cannon back from Elsa. "What the fuck were you thinking! You could have shot my goddamn head off!" she scolded.

"I… was trying to save you."

"Save me? I'm just glad I didn't get shot by a goddamn android!"

Elsa looked shocked and even a little hurt at Anna's remark, which infuriated her a little further though she did not know why.

"Besides, what took you… so… long?" Anna murmured as she gazed around the ballroom floor.

At least five other dead scavvers lay strewn about. Two of them looked like they had been thrown right into the walls, one of them looked like he had his head caved in with a rock, another was smashed so badly into the floor that he was embedded there, and a final one - a female - had her spine broken.

Anna's anger deflated immediately as she examined the bizarre scenery all around her.

"I am sorry," Elsa looked down at her feet, unable to meet Anna's gaze as if she were truly ashamed. "I tried to aid you as fast as I could but there were other-"

"You did all this?" Anna muttered in shock.

Elsa crossed her arms and rubbed her elbows, still looking like a reprimanded puppy as she remained quiet for a long time. "Yes. I was only acting out of self-defense."

Anna sighed deeply, now more upset with herself for being so unfairly cross with Elsa. She had to give credit where credit was due.

"It's… look, it's fine," Anna grumbled. "Let's get out of here, I've had enough of this place."

"As have I," Elsa agreed and quietly fell in step behind Anna as they made their way towards the exit.

When Anna passed by the female scavver's corpse, she paused and examined her a bit more closely before glancing over to Elsa. They looked to be about the same height and build, giving Anna an idea.

"Hold up," Anna said as she knelt by the corpse and began removing her boots.

Elsa timidly stepped up to her. "What are you doing?"

"Can't have you traipsing about New York looking like that."

Elsa frowned and glanced down at her appearance.

"It's just… you look like an android," Anna replied to ease her discomfort. "If we're gonna be sneaking back into the city, you need to look the part of a regular person."

Elsa seemed to consider her proposal in silence then nodded her agreement. "That is a reasonable assessment."

Anna tossed the boots to Elsa, who caught them easily. Then, she removed the next article of clothing from the dead scavver which was a custom made leather bomber jacket that had a high collar. On the back was an emblem of a flaming Japanese oni mask with the word 'samurai.'

"Put those on," Anna said.

"As you wish."

Anna stripped the dead scavver of the rest of her clothing - which included a pair of black jeans and a simple t-shirt with a faded band logo on it - and handed them over to Elsa. As Elsa got dressed by shrugging on her new clothing over her techweave bodysuit, Anna kept her gaze focused on anything else. She wandered over to an old piano and pressed down on the keys, finding that it produced no sound due to how rotten the wood was. A few minutes later, Elsa looked every bit like an ordinary citizen of New York.

Anna looked her up and down before nodding her head in satisfaction. "Alright, not bad. You look… good," she admitted.

Elsa stopped fussing with her clothing and looked up at Anna while beaming. "You think so?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Anna replied and nervously coughed. "Uh… really good, actually."

"Thank you," Elsa flashed a radiant smile and even blushed a little.

 _Huh, how about that,_ Anna thought. _She cleans up pretty well… for an android in a stupid, sexy human body- wait, what?_

"Err, ahem," Anna cleared her throat a little loudly as she gestured limply towards the exit. "We should get a move on."

"I agree," Elsa nodded, now in a much mood than she was before.

… … …

After they departed from the hotel, their path gradually led them back towards higher ground. Thankfully, they were not harassed by any other groups of scavvers and the next portion of their journey was carried on in relative peace and calm. All the while, Anna was stewing in her thoughts as she felt uncharacteristic regret for speaking to Elsa in the way that she had. She had saved Anna's life twice now and though she was an android who knew she was an android, she behaved much like a normal human being. In fact, Anna felt honestly bad and felt an uncomfortable sense of guilt for how she had been treating Elsa so far. Moreover, what made Anna feel even more queasy was the fact that she didn't know why she was even feeling like that. It was strange and she wasn't used to feeling this way, much less for an android, but still, that was how she felt.

Anna sighed deeply as she paused in the middle of a catwalk before turning to face Elsa.

"Is something wrong?" Elsa asked innocently.

"No, it's just," Anna started. "Back there. You did save my life and I- I… just… thank you. That's what I'm trying to say. It was, um… thanks."

That bright smile returned to Elsa's face, casting away her gloomy look as she straightened up and dipped her head politely. "You are welcome," she said.

"Uh… ahem… yeah, let's… let's keep going," Anna murmured before turning around and starting off again.

She only made it a few steps when she noticed that Elsa was waiting patiently with her arms clasped behind her back for her. Evidently, she was still taking Anna's words a little to literally and was waiting for to reach a respectable distance away before following along.

Anna nearly groaned as she paused once more. "Another thing," she turned to face Elsa.

"Yes?" Elsa perked up eagerly.

"Y- you don't have to lag behind like that, you can…" Anna sighed and shook her head around. "You can walk beside me if you want."

Elsa frowned and cocked her head. "But you said-"

"I know what I said," Anna huffed impatiently, holding up her hands.

Elsa was a sharp one, Anna gave her that, and she was adorably curious about the world, and she was incredibly deadly, and she was also breathtakingly beautiful which confused Anna all at once. But above all else, she was just so annoyingly considerate and polite that it was beginning to drive Anna nuts.

In many ways, Elsa reminded her of Nora.

"Now, I'm saying this. It's… shit, I don't know. It's just weird and awkward and it'll be easier for us to talk if I'm not looking over my shoulder all the damn time, okay?"

"Alright," Elsa smiled but still remained in place, as if awaiting further permission.

Anna rolled her eyes and cocked her head to gesture to her that it was okay. "Well, come on," she said as she resumed walking.

Without looking back, Anna heard eager footsteps shuffle up next to her and soon, she and Elsa were walking side by side. After a few semi-comfortable minutes of walking in silence, Anna glanced over and noticed that Elsa's face was scrunched up in thought.

Feeling a question coming on, Anna initiated the conversation. "Oh boy. Here we go."

"Pardon me?" Elsa glanced over in curiosity.

"You're about to ask me a question."

"May I?"

"Didn't you just?"

"I do not understand."

"It's," Anna rubbed her eyes. "Nothing, it's just a joke. What did you want to ask?"

Elsa looked to be in serious thought. "What is sarcasm?"

Anna couldn't help but laugh. "Of all the things you could have asked me, that's what you want to know?"

"Yes," Elsa smiled eagerly, seemingly pleased that she made Anna laugh.

"It's sort of like," Anna sighed and turned her head towards Elsa. "It's like a way to play jokes. You say one thing, but what you really mean is something else. So… let's pretend it was raining and I said 'well gosh golly gee this sure is some lovely weather we're having.' That would be sarcasm."

Elsa remained silent as she peered at Anna in confusion.

"Alright… maybe that's not the best example," Anna shook her head. "Let's say I wanted someone to do something for me, something like... shit I don't know, like I asked them to paint my ceiling blue. So they paint my ceiling, except now its piss yellow instead of the blue I asked for. If I was being sarcastic, I would say something like 'no, no, this is exactly what I wanted. To stare up at a piss yellow ceiling when I specifically asked for blue!' Get it now?"

"But then that would be lying," Elsa frowned. "How could yellow be what you wanted when you asked for blue?"

"Yeah, that's kinda the point of sarcasm. You use it when you wanna be snarky or condescending."

"Hmm. Is lying commonly used in humor?"

"It can be, I guess. I'm not really an expert. What, nobody told you any jokes at VanirCorp?"

Elsa paused for a moment as she considered her response, then smiled brightly. "Perhaps they did, but I must have forgotten all the jokes I was told when they were torturing me."

Anna immediately stopped in her tracks and stared slack-jawed at Elsa, who still smiled as if nothing were amiss. The way she responded was so deadpan and serious that Anna wasn't sure if she was joking or not.

"Uh, El- Elsa," Anna stammered awkwardly. "You were being funny just then, right?"

"Yes," Elsa grinned. "Though the torture part was still accurate."

Anna chuckled a bit uncomfortably. "You're a quick learner."

"I was designed that way," Elsa quipped.

She then turned around and resumed walking, leaving behind a very confused and admittedly a little amused Anna. How Elsa remained so nonchalant about her past was utterly baffling but Anna still had much to learn about her new companion.


	14. Lost and Found

* * *

Hans backed away a few steps as he flexed his knuckles and wiped some blood off of them with a towel before tossing it casually aside. The man in front of him was handcuffed to a metal chair, not that Hans feared any resistance as there were two other security androids just behind him who stared blankly ahead, ignorant of whatever was going on in front of them.

A few days ago, VanirCorp put out a bounty on one of their employees who had apparently stolen some rather sensitive information from the company, along with being responsible for some valuable asset that had also gone missing. VanirCorp was ArmaRex's largest client and so Hans was tasked with apprehending the fugitive which he had managed to do just as he was boarding a colony ship bound for Mars.

"Now," Hans started as he dragged another metal chair over in front of the beaten man and casually sat down. "Are you going to talk, or do I have to keep hitting you?"

Theodore coughed up a thick glob of blood and spat a few broken teeth onto the ground next to him before peering up at Hans through his remaining eye that wasn't blackened. "I… I already told you, I d- don't know anything!" he protested weakly.

"Then how do you explain the files that went missing from VanirCorp? The blackout on the night their asset went missing? Come on, Ted, surely you must have known this was going to happen sooner or later," Hans said as he stood up and paced in a slow circle around his captive. "You know, you're doing this to yourself. The pain stops as soon as you tell me what I want to know, it's as simple as that."

Theodore shook his head. "N- no."

"Can't tell me, won't tell me, or don't want to tell me?"

"Fuck you."

"You know, the last person who got on my nerves was somebody who used to work for me. It's funny actually, he was trying to blackmail me so he could take my job, only I found out and now pieces of him are scattered all across the Hudson river as fish food. Trust me, you don't want to annoy me any more than you already have."

Theodore glanced up at Hans, then looked away.

Hans sighed and paused behind Theodore as he placed both of his hands on his shoulders. "Alright… have it your way."

With a flick of his wrist, Hans extended the pulse-blade from his synthetic forearm which sprung out and rang with a hollow and cruel echo. Theodore flinched and whimpered quietly as Hans returned to his front and waved it around before him, but he still remained stubbornly silent.

"You're a tough one, I'll give you that," Hans said. "Surprisingly so, but let's see how much longer you last."

Hans stepped forward and placed his free hand on Theodore's shoulder while with his other arm, he slowly sank the tip of the pulse-blade into the flesh of his opposite shoulder. Theodore began screaming from anguish immediately as Hans pushed the blade further in. All the while, blue arcs of electricity danced up and down the length of the blade, sending agonizing shocks into his body which intensified the further the blade pierced into his shoulder.

"Aaaagh! _Fuck!_ " Theodore shouted as he thrashed in his chair. "Jesus...Christ, stop!"

"Are you gonna talk!" Hans shouted as he withdrew the blade and smacked Theodore across the face with his free hand. "I can do this all day, we got plenty of meds to keep you lucid! What's it gonna be, huh!?"

Theodore struggled to breathe as he gasped and choked for air. "I- I… can't."

"Why!" Hans shouted as he lunged forward and hovered the tip of the blade just beneath Theodore's right eye.

"D- don't make me…"

"You know! Just tell me!"

"N- no!"

Hans leaned back for a moment, giving Theodore a temporary moment to breathe and collect himself just before he stabbed the blade into his thigh and twisted it around cruelly.

"Argh, shit!" Theodore cried out in agony.

"Talk!" Hans pushed the blade further in. "What did you do with the files you stole! How did you help the asset escape!?"

"Gargh, shit! Alright! Alright, just... just fucking stop!"

Hans removed the blade and knelt down in front of Theodore so that they were eye to eye. "Well?" he asked, waving the blade around in his face.

"It's… it's Project SNOW," Theodore said weakly.

Hans grabbed him by the chin and pulled his face up. "What's Project SNOW?"

"VanirCorp's latest android experiment," Theodore muttered. "I- I stole the files."

"What did you do with them?"

Theodore shook his head weakly. "No… I can't, not her."

"Who are you protecting!?" Hans demanded as he brought the blade up again and threatened him with it.

Rather than wait for a response, Hans drew his arm back and deftly plunged the tip of his blade into Theodore's right eye.

" _Fuuuuck_!" Theodore howled from complete shock and pain as he frantically thrashed about.

Hans kept a firm hand on Theodore's shoulder as he wiggled and maneuvered the blade around inside his eye socket until he popped out his right eye. "Had enough!?" he shouted as he caught it in his free hand and held it up to Theodore's remaining eye tauntingly.

"It's Elsa!" Theodore yelled. "She's the asset. I gave her the files!"

"What is Elsa?" Hans asked as he tossed the eye over his shoulder and knelt down in front of Theodore again.

"Shit… shit!" Theodore cursed as he thrashed and struggled against his restraints. "She… she's a prototype model, Enhanced Learning Systems Android. She's the only one of her kind."

Hans paused and stood up, contemplating this new piece of information. VanirCorp had been tightlipped about whatever their asset was, but now, his curiosity was piqued. He sensed an opportunity presenting itself and decided to seize it.

"This android, tell me about her," Hans said as he began pacing circles around Theodore again.

"She's Project SNOW. Elsa is supposed to be the next generation of androids built from human DNA," Theodore explained hurriedly. "Designed t- to… be stronger, faster, and smarter than any human. She was built to learn and constantly adapt."

"Hmm," Hans scratched his jaw in thought. "Why did you help her escape? Why give her the files to Project SNOW?"

"Because," Theodore looked up defiantly at Hans with his remaining eye. "It was the right thing to do. They were torturing her until she couldn't even remember who she was! Those files that I gave her were her memory back ups to help her recover."

Hans laughed derisively. "She's a fucking android! You got a soft spot for her?"

"She's human," Theodore said firmly. "Better than human."

"Well, be that as it may, she's property of VanirCorp," Hans said. "Where is she now?"

"I don't know."

"Do I have to take your other eye?"

"I'm telling you, I don't know! We didn't tell each other where we were going because it was safer that way!"

"And yet, here you are," Hans chuckled.

Theodore hacked up a glob of blood and spat in at Hans's feet. "You won't find her, you know. Elsa… she's smart, smarter than any of us, and she's deadly. You'll never find her."

"You don't have to worry about her anymore," Hans patted Theodore's shoulder amicably as if they had just had a civil conversation. "Nice talking with you, Ted."

With that, Hans wiped the blade clean then retracted it into his arm as he made his way out of the interrogation room.

… … …

After cleaning himself up in his personal bathroom, Hans returned to his corner office at ArmaRex and gazed out over the city, thinking about the wealth of new information he had just learn and how he might use it.

If everything that Theodore had said was true then Elsa was an incredibly lucrative opportunity that was just waiting to be exploited. An android that appeared human, possessed super intelligence as well as enhanced speed and strength could be turned into a formidable tool. The possibilities were endless; espionage, assassination, kidnapping, extortion. Those were just a few ways that such a weapon like Elsa could be utilized. If she truly was the only one of her kind, that meant she was unique and could not be reproduced anywhere else, giving whoever controlled her an edge on all other competition.

Hans grinned to himself. Long had he desired to move further up the chain of command at ArmaRex and if he brought in Elsa, he would surely have the power to climb all the way to the top. For years and years he had struggled to get to where he was now; backstabbing, bribing, and blackmailing just to crawl forward but now, he had a chance to gain real power and real influence. He swept his gaze over the city below him that he could one day own, then settled his sights upon the gleaming tower of VanirCorp ahead in the distance. The grin faded from his face, and he began entertaining another scenario.

_Why settle for ArmaRex?_ Hans thought. _When I can have both?_

ArmaRex was New York's top manufacturer of firearms and military hardware, which placed them at the top as they owned much of the city council as well as the police force. In addition to producing weapons, ArmaRex contracted out security services and mercenary work to many smaller corporations that sought protection. Their only real competitors were Ronin, a smaller Japanese private military corporation, and Weseltech Dynamics, who specialized in producing robotics and cyberware.

However, for as much clout and power as they held, ArmaRex was still nothing in comparison to VanirCorp who produced all of the city's androids. Their work was always on the bleeding edge and Matilda Rosenthal commanded a vast amount of power and influence throughout New York. Even so, Hans knew that Matilda was aging and most importantly, had no heirs. It was an open secret among top level brass at both ArmaRex and VanirCorp that the family line that had founded the latter company suffered from a fatal genetic affliction. Mathias Rosenthal, along with his son, Andreas, had both died from early-onset Alzheimer's Disease and it was now only a matter of time until the latest progeny of the Rosenthal's, Matilda, succumbed to it as well. She had a daughter, who died shortly after she was born, leaving no one else behind to assume control of the company.

A power vacuum would surely follow Matilda's death, leaving behind a board of executives fighting against each other before her corpse would even be cold. The grin returned to Hans's face as he set his ambitions even higher. All he had to do was recover Elsa and wait out Matilda, or perhaps even speed along her demise if necessary. Violent takeovers of corporations were not unheard of and it was an all too common strategy in New York. If it was executed perfectly, Hans stood to gain everything from this little power grab.

To do all that, first he had to find Elsa. Theodore had proven helpful but now Hans could turn him over to VanirCorp to collect his bounty. It was still far too early to act rashly and Hans first needed to position all of his pieces on the chessboard. He brought up his omni-pad then contacted Matilda. Ever since he had been made security liaison between ArmaRex and VanirCorp, he had a personal line to the woman.

A few moments later, Matilda's face appeared on the display of his omni-pad. "Have you got something for me?"

"Found your stray," Hans replied. "He was trying to get to Mars."

"Have you interrogated him?"

"I have, but he's a tough one. Didn't speak a word about whatever asset you lost or what files went missing," Hans lied as he needed to gauge Matilda's reaction and plan accordingly.

"Unbelievable," Matilda sighed. "Bring him to me. We'll extract the information we need from him."

"You got it," Hans smiled. "And then we need to talk."

"Yes, I imagine we do. As soon as you've returned the engineer to our custody, come and see me in my office. I have more work for you."

"You do?"

"I won't tolerate any more incompetence from my staff. The breach we've suffered and the asset's escape have only further justified my reasoning for outsourcing to ArmaRex. I'm making you my new head of security and I trust you'll accept this promotion as it comes with a handsome pay raise."

"Well," Hans smiled. "Who would I be to reject such a lucrative offer then?"

"Good. Don't disappoint me."

With that, Matilda exited the call.

Hans smirked to himself, then sighed deeply as he stared out across the city towards the VanirCorp building.

_The view here is good,_ Hans thought. _But I want the view from up there._


	15. The Loop

* * *

"So," Anna started as she ducked beneath a beam of rusted metal. "Got anything else you want to ask me?"

"I have several questions," Elsa said as she walked alongside Anna.

Anna shook her head and sighed to herself. She was feeling uncharacteristically forthcoming with Elsa and even though she had only known the android for a short time, she figured there wasn't much harm in a little conversation. Especially now since they were nearing the end of their journey together after which Anna hoped to be rid of her.

"Shoot," Anna said.

"Do you enjoy hurting people?" Elsa asked nonchalantly.

Anna paused and fixed Elsa with a hard look. "Excuse me?"

Elsa came to a stop as well next to Anna. "I only ask because you appear to have no qualms with violence."

"No, I don't, because if I have any qualms about it, someone who doesn't would just as easily put a bullet in my skull. All that stuff back there?" Anna pointed in the direction they had come from. "That was us or them. Kill or be killed. We didn't have a choice, and I sure as hell don't enjoy it but I'll do whatever needs to be done to survive."

Elsa considered her response then nodded. "I understand."

Anna was still a bit irritated as she resumed walking. "Besides, you're one to talk. I saw what you did to those scavvers, did you enjoy doing that?" she countered.

"No. If they had not harmed you or presented a threat to us, I would have chosen to let them be."

"Well, sometimes they don't always give you that choice. I don't know how things were up in that ivory tower of yours but down here, people do whatever it takes just to get by. Sometimes that means hurting other people, or using them, or taking advantage of them. That's the way it is."

Elsa appeared as if she was about to say something else, then thought better of it as she fell silent and continued walking next to Anna. A few minutes of silent walking passed by, during which Anna's expression was dark and stormy while Elsa's expression was calm and placid.

"What is this place you are taking us to?" Elsa asked after a little while.

"It's an old abandoned transport station," Anna replied easily, glad for a less intense line of questioning. "I- I came upon it a long time ago."

_A lifetime ago,_ Anna said in her mind.

Elsa nodded and prompted Anna to continue.

"Used to belong to SovAir," Anna said. "But they up and left when they moved their business to Mars."

"Why did they do that?" Elsa asked.

"Some… run of bad luck, I guess," Anna replied, being deliberately vague since she knew exactly what had caused the company to fold. "An accident happened and they had to pack up shop."

Elsa nodded and said nothing more.

Together, they continued their trek across the flood zone and eventually, they arrived upon a rooftop that overlooked the western banks of the Hudson River where their goal lay. Before the collapse, walking to this point through lower Manhattan would not have been so difficult, but in the time after when it was turned into a mire of crumbling buildings and flood waters, navigation took significantly longer. The sky was already darkening and some of the clouds had parted to reveal a tapestry that was awash with shades of orange, purple, and blue as evening advanced upon them.

Anna rested her forearms against a concrete railing as she observed the sky in the distance. Next to her, Elsa studied the sunset with wide-eyed wonderment as they both enjoyed an oddly comfortable silence.

After several minutes, Elsa spoke up once again. "Who is Nora?"

Anna stiffened immediately and she rounded on Elsa. "What did you just say?!" she asked angrily.

Elsa flinched slightly as if she was afraid she might be struck. "I… only heard you say that name in your sleep."

"Y- you were watching me sleep?!" Anna exclaimed, her rage rising. "What the fuck?"

"No, you said it just before I woke you up."

"Look," Anna breathed in deep and exhaled heavily as she tried to control her temper. "I don't know what you _think_ you heard, but you've got it wrong."

"You said her name twice, I recall."

Anna's anger deflated and she suddenly felt very tired. She didn't want to argue with Elsa and she couldn't even summon the energy to be angry at her for dredging up such an awful thing. Even so, by now Anna understood that Elsa was just curious and likely meant no harm, even if it pained her at the mere mention of Nora's name. As Elsa peered at her with her doe eyes, Anna thought just for a moment that she saw the ghost of Nora. She shook herself from her thoughts then, surmising that her overactive imagination was just acting up in such a hallowed place.

"Alright… guess nothing really slips by you huh?" Anna smiled bitterly and she turned her head away from Elsa as she studied the murky waters of the Hudson. "She… she was my sister."

"Oh," Elsa shrunk a little and backed away from Anna respectively. "Was?"

"Yeah. She died a long time ago. Not that far from here, actually."

"Please, forgive me. I did not intend to-"

"Yeah, but you did anyways, so thanks for bringing up a really awful thing that happened to me," Anna said as she brushed past Elsa without looking at her. "We should get a move on before it gets dark."

… … …

By evening, Anna and Elsa had passed beyond the worst parts of the flood zone without further incident and found themselves wandering the desolate banks of the Hudson River opposite from the city. However, to get back inside Asimov station and into the city, they would have to pass by the one place that Anna regularly visited once a year.

Beyond the city walls and next to a dilapidated transit hub that once teemed with traffic was a hill that overlooked an empty and barren field. The swollen banks of the Hudson river lined it's edges, rendering much of what had once been a proud and teeming city into a swampy mire of muck and industrial runoff. Like the dead fields that surrounded it, nothing else grew or stood aside from a rusted piece of sheet metal that rose from the soft ground, bearing the carved etching of the name 'Nora.'

Every year on their birthday, Anna made a pilgrimage to this location. She would pass through the seawall and trudge through the wasteland to reach the site of her fraternal twin sister's grave. With the route they were taking, there would be no avoiding it. So, Anna decided she may as well stop by if she was in the area.

This time however, she wasn't alone.

"Here we are," Anna muttered as she led Elsa up the hill.

Next to her, Elsa nodded her head solemnly and followed after Anna as they made their way up the muddy earth. Neither of them spoke as they walked, accompanied only by the mournful wind that blew across the ground. Winter was just around the corner, and though some of the toxic marshland was already beginning to freeze over, much of it still remained buried beneath the slimy muck.

After they reached the top of the hill, Anna paused before Nora's grave to take in the view of the city before her. Ahead of them, across the Hudson river lay the large and imposing seawalls that kept the city dry. Behind them stood the massive superstructures that stretched high beyond the tops of the seawalls towards the sky.

Nauseatingly bright holographic signs, billboards, and advertisements covered nearly every surface as far as the eye could see. Skycars zipped through the air in and out and between the superstructures like hornets buzzing through a hive-mind. This far outside, the city appeared to be a pulsating, neon strobe light that served as a beacon of the new American dream.

Anna knew better now, and soon after she had moved here did she realize that it was all a façade. As a little girl, she and Nora dreamt of leaving their crumbling home behind in search of a new life, a new home, only to find yet another city filled with crime and corruption. If there was anywhere good left in the universe, it certainly wasn't on Earth. With a heavy breath, she knelt down and placed her hand flat against the sheet metal beneath Nora's name.

_I guess you were the lucky one,_ Anna thought bitterly. _At least you didn't live to see the lie._

Meanwhile, Elsa remained silent as she observed the glowing cyberscape next to Anna.

"This is it," Anna finally spoke after a few minutes of shared silence. "This is where she died."

"Nora?" Elsa asked.

Her voice was calm and even, which brought a small measure of comfort to Anna as she fought against the tears that threatened to spill out.

Anna squeezed her eyes shut as she sighed deeply. "Yeah," she muttered as the wind gently caressed the single tear drop that had escaped from her eyes and rolled down her cheek.

"I am sorry," Elsa said and bowed her head mournfully.

When she looked up, Anna noticed that Elsa's nose was bleeding again. Elsa soon took notice and wiped some of it away with two of her fingers, staring at them in concentration before hurriedly wiping the rest of the blood away with her hand which stained her pale skin.

"Why would you be?" Anna asked, suddenly angry and searching for something to take it out on. She turned to Elsa and furrowed her brows as she pressed the stoic woman and android. "After all, it was _your_ kind that killed her!"

Elsa cocked her head in the same infuriatingly familiar way she always did. "My kind?" she asked softly.

Her face betrayed no sign of any emotion, which angered Anna further.

"Yes, _your_ kind. The fucking andys, synthetics, metal and plastic fucking machines, whatever you want to call them. Goddamn androids killed her," Anna said, striding right up to Elsa's face, hoping to elicit some kind of emotional response. "They killed her, they shot her right in the chest. She died just because she wanted to stand up for some kid she didn't even know!" she yelled as angry tears started to make tracks down her cheeks.

Elsa bowed her head again and stared out the ground between them.

"Look! Just look around, it's a fucking wasteland out here," Anna shouted as she turned with her arms out in a wide circle. "There's just… _nothing_! My sister deserved better than this, she should have more than just an empty grave! I loved her more than anything in the world. She was good, she was kind, and they _killed_ her!"

Elsa looked to Anna and her own eyes were shimmering. "Is that why you hate androids?"

Anna nodded firmly, but her anger deflated somewhat when she detected a small note of sadness in Elsa's voice. The longer she was around her, the more that Anna began to notice that Elsa was gradually acting less and less like an android and more like an actual human.

"Yeah, that's why I hate androids," Anna replied. "Because they took away the only person that I ever fucking cared about in this godforsaken world. You know what? Wh- why am I even trying to explain this to you? You wouldn't understand what it's like to lose someone."

Elsa flinched again, but not out of fear of being struck. A small part of Anna regretted what she had just said then and there, but she didn't acknowledge it.

"You miss her," Elsa said quietly.

"Of course I fucking miss her!" Anna shouted, angry again but not at Elsa. "I miss her every day! But nothing will ever bring her back, there's nothing! Nothing that could ever give me back what I lost!"

"I… I'm sorry this happened to you," Elsa replied. "You didn't deserve it."

Anna looked up at Elsa, catching for the first time that she had used contractions. Indeed, her claims had been true and it seemed that by the hour Elsa learned more and more about the complexities of human emotion, nuance, and interaction. Once again, Anna felt a flash and a tug somewhere in the back of her mind, something eerily familiar that she felt long ago and had thought she had long forgotten.

"It doesn't matter anymore," Anna muttered as she wiped her eyes and started making her way back down the hill. "Let's get out of here."

She was suddenly stopped when Elsa reached out and grabbed her by the hand remarkably gently despite the displays of incredible strength that Anna had seen from her. When she looked at her face, Anna saw grief, pain, and sympathy. Things that she didn't want, but needed nonetheless even if she stubbornly refused to admit it.

Anna pulled her hand away a little rougher than was necessary, but she remained in place as Elsa gazed tenderly at her.

"I'm sorry, V. I really am."

"You don't have to say that."

"V… I-"

"Are you coming or not?"

"Yes, I… just need a moment," Elsa mumbled quietly as she appeared to be overcome by a dizzy spell.

Her nose had started bleeding again but this time seemed to be more serious as a few drops of her blood fell and stained the muddy earth of Nora's empty grave. Meanwhile, her eyes appeared glazed and unfocused as she stumbled and nearly tripped before she found her balance again.

"Elsa?" Anna stepped up towards her, forgetting her grief for a moment as confusion and a small amount of concern overtook her.

"I- I feel…" Elsa said nothing more as she passed out and fell limply to the ground on her side.

"Oh shit," Anna muttered.

She immediately went over to Elsa and knelt next to her to turn her over on her back. Anna noticed the stream of blood trickling from her nose as well as her shallow uneven breathing, making her believe that this was the condition that Elsa spoke of.

Hesitantly, Anna reached forward and gently tapped Elsa's cheeks with her fingers as she attempted to revive her. "Elsa? Hey, you okay? Elsa! Come on, don't make me drag you all the way back," she flicked Elsa on the forehead. "Goddamnit, wake up! You run out of batteries or something?"

Anna peered around helplessly, then rose to her feet. With no other option, she knelt down and picked up Elsa's limp body into her arms, noting how surprisingly light the android was. As night fell upon them, Anna started trudging her way back to the abandoned transport station, carrying Elsa in her arms while her head swam with possibilities about what just happened.

Before long, she reached an empty terminal where they could rest for the night. Anna had hoped to push beyond the wall and be back within the city that same night, but Elsa wasn't travelling anywhere in her current condition. As Anna made her way through rows of empty seats, she eventually reached a secluded corner and gently set Elsa's unconscious body across some seats. It wasn't particularly comfortable, but there wasn't much in the way of luxury to be found anymore since Asimov Station had been abandoned.

The darkness was near complete with only thin shafts of pale moonlight providing a meager amount of visibility. Anna raised her arm and brought her omni-pad to life, then changed it over to the lantern option. A soft white glow immediately lit up her surroundings enough to see by and then she removed it from her arm and set it next to Elsa so that she could tend to her.

"Okay," Anna muttered as she rubbed her hands together. "Never had to play nurse to an andy before. I'm not even sure how I'm supposed to fix you. Got any advice?"

Elsa remained silent and still. Her nose had stopped bleeding and her breathing had returned to normal, which made Anna believe that whatever had come over her had now passed. Carefully, Anna lifted Elsa's head and inspected it for any signs of trauma. When she found nothing, she sighed in relief and frowned in confusion.

With nothing else to do, Anna took this moment to examine Elsa's face more closely. Her skin was pale as porcelain, that much Anna already knew, but upon closer inspection, she found a light dusting of freckles across her cheeks and nose that she hadn't seen before. They were nearly invisible, but the sight of them made Anna reach up and touch her own cheek to feel her own freckles.

_She really is beautiful,_ Anna thought. _What the hell happened to her? She was just talking and then she fell over. Is this her condition that she was talking about?_

Tentatively, Anna reached up and placed the back of her hand flat against Elsa's forehead as if to feel for a fever. Her skin was pleasantly cool to the touch and Elsa sighed contentedly as soon as they contacted one another, causing Anna to rip her hand away out of fear that she had awoken her. When Elsa didn't stir, Anna breathed a sigh of relief and buried her face in her hands.

_This was not how this was supposed to go down at all. Find her, bring her home, get paid. That's it! We're even now, so you don't owe her anything else, Anna. Put her out of your mind. Tomorrow you'll be done with this._

With a heavy sigh, Anna steeled her resolve and picked up her omni-pad and set it back on her forearm. She glanced at the time and took note of how late it was, then stole a quick glance back at Elsa who remained peacefully asleep.

_It's late. She probably won't even be up anytime soon,_ Anna thought as she took a seat across from Elsa and studied her still form. _The call can wait until tomorrow, I guess._

Deciding to push off her plan for now, Anna removed her long-coat then laid back on her seat, using it as a blanket. After a few minutes of silence, she turned her head and stared at Elsa for a long moment, attempting to solve the riddle that had been presented before her. Coming up with nothing, Anna shifted her gaze up to the ceiling and shut her eyes. The excitement from the day's events had left her exhausted and moments later, she was sound asleep.

… … …

Anna awoke the next day a few hours after sunrise. She rubbed her eyes and yawned loudly then suddenly remembered where she was, so, she turned her head around to where Elsa should have been and instead found nothing.

"Fuck!" Anna cursed as she rolled off her seat and collapsed onto the floor. "Are you fucking kidding me!"

Fearing that Elsa had taken off while she was asleep, Anna quickly rose to her feet and donned her long-coat as she muttered expletives under breath. She did a quick survey of her surroundings and found that Elsa was nowhere to be seen.

"Elsa?" Anna called out as she began pacing down the length of the terminal, searching for her lost android. "Hello? Where'd you go! Elsa!"

"I'm over here!"

Anna whipped around to locate the sound of Elsa's voice, then found her standing some distance away by a large window as she watched the morning sky unfurl over the city.

"Jesus," Anna muttered under her breath as she approached Elsa.

"Good morning, V," Elsa smiled sweetly as Anna strode up to her. "How are you feeling?"

Anna paused in place, then walked the rest of the way up to Elsa a little more cautiously. Elsa was acting strange, that is to say, Elsa wasn't acting like an android. In the short greeting she had just said, she was already speaking less stiffly and more flowingly, like a human.

"Uh, I'm… good?" Anna as she slowly stepped up to Elsa's side while observing her warily. "You seem to be doing much better than you were yesterday."

"Yes, I am," Elsa smiled again causing something to tug on Anna's heart. "I actually wanted to thank you."

It was a purely innocent smile, completely earnest with nothing held back. The kind of smile that someone only gives when they've felt something new for the first time.

"Thank me for what?" Anna asked slowly.

"For watching over me," Elsa replied easily. "I know it must not have been easy to make your way back here while tending to an unconscious android."

"Right," Anna coughed and cleared her throat nervously. "Well, that makes us even now. You took care of me, I took care of you. We're square."

"Yes. I should say so."

"Can we… talk about that real quick? I mean, what happened yesterday? One minute you were fine and then the next you were passed out. Was it because of your condition? I noticed your nose was bleeding and it wasn't the first time that happened either."

The smile on Elsa's face faded somewhat and she looked away. "Yes, well… I'm fine now so you shouldn't worry," she turned her gaze back on Anna and the smile was there again, though less bright and eerily less genuine.

"You didn't answer my question," Anna pressed.

"It was a temporary loss of consciousness, I was prone to them at VanirCorp," Elsa's countenance slipped a little further as her smile became more strained while something in her eyes changed as they shifted around. "They are simply a residual side-effect from some of the testing that they conducted."

"Uh huh," Anna nodded her head slowly. "Can you travel?"

She knew Elsa was hiding something, but now that they were nearing the end of their journey, she didn't really care and besides, they were even now.

"Yes," Elsa snapped up and smiled more genuinely this time. "Have you given any more thought to my proposal?" she asked hopefully.

It was Anna's turn to lie now and thankfully, she was much more well versed in the art of masking her emotions. "Sure. It's like I told you, this friend I have, he's my go-to guy for this sort of thing. We'll go to him and see if he can help us, sound good?"

"Good," Elsa agreed. "Shall we get underway?"

Anna flashed a thin smile that didn't reach her eyes just before she turned around and started walking. "Yeah, come on. Sooner we get there the better."

For some reason, she couldn't bear to look at the eager and hopeful look on Elsa's face for much longer.


	16. Schrödinger's Cat

* * *

Elsa nodded her head eagerly as V turned around and started walking. She fell in step beside her and soon, the pair were off once more, setting off deeper into the abandoned terminal guided along by V's knowledge of the area.

Though she still wasn't comfortable with repeatedly lying to V, Elsa couldn't deny the results that it was producing. The past few days alone had already more unlocked shattered fragments of her memories that she could never recall before. While they were disjointed, Elsa was certain of it now; she had known V in her previous life. The exact nature of their relationship still remained unclear, but Elsa could feel a connection to Nora somehow and she was sure that the longer she stayed with V, the stronger that connection would become. Nothing else could explain the nosebleeds she experienced or the flashes of pain she felt at the mere mention of her name. Given enough time, she could start putting together the puzzle pieces of her memories but to do that, she had to keep lying to V.

There was simply no telling how V would react and so - to err on the side of caution - Elsa elected to keep her in the dark for the time being. She couldn't risk scaring V off or pushing her away for any reason, not when she had begun to make more progress in finding out she was then she had in years.

With each step of their way closer towards their goal, Elsa grew more and more excited. They had passed through some back passages throughout the terminal and now found themselves standing inside of a large hangar. The massive double doors ahead of them were sealed shut, and all around them were various types of shuttles and ships that had been mothballed and left to decay. Much of them had already been stripped of their valuable components, leaving behind metallic skeletons that hovered over them in silence.

"Here we go," V said to herself. "We're close now. Just a little bit further and we'll be back inside the city."

The route that V was showing Elsa took them directly through the wall. In its day when it had still been functional, Asimov Station served as a transit hub as well as one of New York's few ground entrances once the seawalls were built.

"Who is this friend of yours?" Elsa asked as they walked through the boneyard.

"He's what people call a tech-doctor," V started. "Specializes in installing or patching up cyberware, implants, enhancements, that sort of thing. Doesn't mean he's isn't good with fixing organic folk, it's just not his usual clientele."

"And he can help me?"

"Hasn't come across anything he couldn't fix yet. He runs a little operation out of an old cabaret theatre called the Memory Palace. People come there to… relive their memories. You should be able to learn everything about yourself that you want to know there."

"Relive their memories? How is that possible?"

"I don't really know how it works, but you get hooked up to these pods and… you think of a memory, or even just a feeling and it shows you the one you're thinking of.'

Elsa smiled to herself as she continued walking alongside V. If it was true what she was saying, then all Elsa had to do was think of V or even just the name Nora to see what she could uncover. Still, some doubts remained in her mind as Sinclair and the technology at Minerva hadn't been able to help her much. Even so, Elsa allowed herself to hope given everything she had already experienced with V.

"Are you a frequent patron?" Elsa asked.

V turned over her shoulder and fixed Elsa with a pensive look. "I guess you could say that."

They came to the opposite side of the hangar that was nestled against the seawall and there, they found a large wall that was made of smooth panels of metal. Some of them had corroded and fallen apart over time, revealing a messy patchwork of pipes and vents just behind which would allow them passage through the seawall.

V paused at a panel on the ground leaning against the wall, then peered behind it into the darkness. "It's this way," she said as she cocked her head towards it and entered.

Shuffling into the passage behind V, Elsa pawed around in complete darkness until her hand brushed up against V's shoulder, startling her.

"Ah, easy!" V scolded.

"Sorry," Elsa said. "I can't see very well."

"It's fine," V huffed and moments later, she lit up the darkness using her omni-pad as a flashlight then resumed walking. "Better?"

"Yes, thank you," Elsa smiled gratefully.

The way they followed narrowed into numerous different service tunnels and side passages that formed a meandering maze through the seawall and yet, V navigated them with ease and confidence as she continued to lead Elsa. After some time of walking and ducking under low spaces, they eventually came upon a wide and open section deep within the seawall that formed a sort of canyon. There, they continued along a series of catwalks until they reached the opposite side and continued pressing forward.

"How do you know your way around this place?" Elsa asked.

"When I was younger I… I used to live in an orphanage. They kicked me out when I turned sixteen and for a while I lived on the streets. In old warehouses, abandoned factories, all sorts of places really. Just anywhere I could find that was safe for night and one day I came across this part of the wall."

"You were in an orphanage?"

"Yeah… what about it?"

"I… the memories that I was implanted with, some of them revolved around living in an orphanage as well."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"But you know they're not real."

"I do."

"Hmm," V coughed and cleared her throat. "Probably just coincidence then."

"Yes," Elsa agreed though a dull pain pulsed inside of her head, indicating that she thought otherwise. "Just a coincidence."

"Lots of kids are orphans in this city, I wouldn't think too much of it."

"Did you… forgive me, I shouldn't ask sensitive questions."

"No," V turned around and peered curiously at Elsa. "But you already started, so you might as well ask."

Elsa nodded. "What happened to your parents?"

V sighed deeply. "My mom died after me and my sister were born, so we never knew her. As for my dad, he was killed by a ganger over a few credits because of a gambling debt. If he didn't die because of that, he would have eventually drunk himself into the grave anyways."

"I'm sorry," Elsa said sincerely. "I didn't know."

"No, how could you?" V replied. "I'm not originally from here, you know?"

"Where are you from?"

"I'm from LA. My… sister and I, we lived on the streets for a long time until we could make enough credits to move here," V laughed bitterly to herself. "We thought we could have a better life, be rich, and not have to worry about when our next meal was gonna be or if somebody was gonna shank us in our sleep. What a lie that was."

Elsa said nothing and remained respectfully silent as V continued to explain more about herself.

"Af- after sh- she… ahem" V sniffed and paused a moment to regain he composure. "When she was gone, I was left on my own. I met K at the orphanage and we stuck together for a while. Eventually I found out I was good at this kind of work and well… I've been doing it ever since."

"We all enjoy what we're good at, no?"

"I don't."

"Well… for what it's worth, I'm certainly glad that I met you V," Elsa said reassuringly.

"Hmm," V turned her head to Elsa and gave a sad smile. "She was like you."

"She was an android?" Elsa joked, attempting to alleviate some of the gloom.

It was a risky one, but it paid off when V laughed. It was quiet and soft with an airy musical note that warmed Elsa's artificial heart. It was also delicate and hesitant as if V was afraid that she could lose that small amount of joy at any moment.

"No… _innocent_ ," V said softly.

The somber tone with which V replied gave Elsa pause to think and brokered no further room for discussion. Both of them fell silent, lost in their own thoughts as they made their way through the darkness to the other side of the seawall where eventually they came upon a gangway that led up to a rusty hatch.

V stopped in front of it and frowned while she placed her hands on her hips. "Shit, that's not supposed to be closed, how did that happen?"

She placed her hands on the valve and attempted to turn it, grunting from the effort while muttering expletives to herself. After it was clear she could not open it on her own, V heaved and stepped back from the hatch then turned over to Elsa.

"I don't suppose you can open this, can you?" V asked.

"Not a problem," Elsa said.

Standing in front of the hatch, Elsa gripped the valve and began to turn. It squeaked and screeched at first, then turned easily as flakes of rust were scraped off. Elsa spun the valve until it came fully undone and swung the heavy hatch outside into the world beyond, letting in bright rays of sunlight.

Elsa stood aside politely and gestured V through. "After you," she said.

"Thanks," V muttered as she stepped out into the light, shielding her eyes as she emerged from the darkness.

After she was out, Elsa climbed up and stood by V's side, looking out over the city just below them. The day was still beginning but already the city was buzzing with activity. Indeed, with as packed and densely populated as New York was, it was a factual statement that the city never slept.

"We're back," Elsa said as she took in the sights, smells, and sounds once more.

"Yep," V agreed as she started making her way down. "The Memory Palace is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from here."

"Really?" Elsa asked as she literally hopped down the overlook and landed next to V, peering at her expectantly.

"No, not a literal- it's… it's a saying."

"Oh, I see."

"Do you?"

"You humans have many sayings."

V simply rolled her eyes and said nothing else as she resumed making her way back into the city, closely followed by Elsa who was still trying to wrap her head around the complexities of human conversation.

… … …

Elsa was led through the narrow and packed streets by V, who navigated through them easily as they proceeded on foot towards the Memory Palace. Before long, just as the sun approached its apex at midday, they found themselves standing in front of the holo-sign that hovered above the entrance to the repurposed old cabaret theatre.

"This is it," V said as she gestured towards the entrance to the Memory Palace and urgently waved Elsa along. "K should be inside, let's go."

She seemed impatient, which Elsa took note of as she examined the exterior of the building.

"Is K shorthand for something?" Elsa asked as she approached the entrance alongside V.

V shrugged. "Dunno, never asked. You can ask him when you meet him, now come on."

"Alright," Elsa said a little nervously.

For some reason, she was a little hesitant to meet this friend of V's which was strange. Here she was, so close to the answers she desperately sought and yet something about the whole affair felt off to Elsa somehow. Once they entered, a woman with electric blue hair looked up and greeted V with a genial smile.

"V! You're back… _ooh_ , and you brought a friend," the woman said as a mischievous smile spread across her face.

"Hey, Darla," V said. "This is Elsa, Elsa this is Darla."

"Hello there," Elsa greeted coolly as she approached the counter. "Pleasure to meet you."

Darla looked Elsa up and down then smirked. "Never seen you around here before. Where you been all this time, sugar?"

Elsa wasn't quite sure how to react but she did feel some heat flush to her cheeks as she experienced flattery and a little embarrassment for the first time. She opened her mouth but the only word she managed to get out was, "I," before V cut her off.

"She's new to the city," V said a little hurriedly. "Sorry, but we can't really talk today toots. We're kind of on a time crunch. Is K in?"

Darla pouted and sighed. "Mmhmm. He's in the back, same as usual."

V nodded. "Thanks," she said as she started making her way inside.

As Elsa passed by Darla, she shot her an apologetic smile.

Darla returned a Cheshire grin of her own. "Don't be a stranger now," she purred as she daintily waved to Elsa.

Before Elsa could respond, she felt V's hand grab her by the elbow and tug her along impatiently into the theatre. Elsa had little time to appreciate her new surroundings as V dragged her through the rows and rows of memory pods that surrounded them. Quite a few of them were already occupied by numerous patrons, who were all hooked up to the devices via cords or headsets that they wore.

The theatre was largely silent as machinery hummed and whirred all around them. At the other end, Elsa spotted a bartender who nodded his head at V to acknowledge her as she passed by. They soon arrived at the stage, where V finally let go of Elsa and urged her forward.

"K's backstage, this way," V said as she parted the main curtains and passed through, holding them open for Elsa. "When we get back there, just let me do the talking, okay?"

"Alright," Elsa agreed.

With that, V led them Elsa through the dark backstage passages until she reached the dressing room that K used as his clinic. Today, he apparently had no patients to deal with, which was a good thing as it gave them more time to talk.

"K? It's me, I'm back," V called out as she strode through the open doorway with Elsa in tow.

"V," K greeted as he set down a pair of pliers and flexed his metallic fingers that he was working on. "What can I do for you?"

"There's someone I want you to meet," V started as she stepped forward and gestured to Elsa who stood politely beside her. "This is Elsa."

"Woah, new friend?" K smiled as he stood up and approached the pair. "I'm K, I run this little back-alley butcher shop," he extended his hand towards Elsa.

"Pleasure to meet you," Elsa said as she shook his hand and returned a polite smile.

"Oof, strong grip you got there," K chuckled and pulled back as he wiggled his hand around. "What brings you guys in here today?"

"She needs your help," V said.

"Oh," K crossed his arms and glanced back and forth between Elsa and V. "What's going on? Did V get you into some trouble?"

"Very funny," V rolled her eyes. "No, nothing like that. Elsa is an android."

K's eyebrows shot up in surprise as he uncrossed his arms and glanced cautiously at Elsa. "Really?" he asked. "You don't look like andy to me."

"Enhanced Learning Systems Android, but Elsa is what most people prefer to call me," Elsa replied. "As for my appearance, I'm an experimental prototype. Virtually identical to a human being."

"V?" K frowned as he turned to her. "What's going on here?" he asked cautiously.

V sighed. "It's a long story and believe me I'm more weirded out by the whole situation than you are. But look, the point is, she's got a problem that you might be able to help with," she turned her head to Elsa. "Actually… she can probably explain it better than I can."

"Okay," K muttered then turned back to Elsa. "What's the problem?"

Elsa gave V a lingering sidelong glance as she once again felt a little hurt at her choice of words. "Well," she started as she turned back to K. "In short, I need to recover some of my memories."

She was being deliberately vague so as not to divulge too many details on the nature of her problem and why she sought K's help. Just discussing it with him was already putting him in grave danger of reprisal from VanirCorp if they discovered Elsa's intentions. She couldn't risk that to an innocent bystander, much less to one of V's friends, and so she preferred to omit as many details as possible.

K appeared to be waiting for some kind of punchline as he glanced between V and Elsa. "Recover your memories?" he fixed Elsa with a curious look. "What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly that," V crossed her arms and leaned against a low table. "Trust me on this, K. The less you know, the better."

"Yeah," K muttered as he scratched his jaw. "That… doesn't really make me feel any better about this."

"Just help her out, don't ask any questions, and we'll be out of your hair in no time," V said a little impatiently.

K chuckled to himself as he turned around and sank into his rolling chair. "This should be interesting," he gestured to the empty pod next to him and motioned for Elsa to take a seat. "Go ahead, hop in and we'll have a look inside your head."

"Thank you," Elsa said sincerely as she stepped up to the pod and settled into the comfortable seat.

"Don't thank me just yet," K said as he waved his hands in a dismissive gesture. "Still haven't got a clue what's going on here, but I know better than to get wrapped up in one of V's wild schemes."

"What do I need to do?" Elsa asked as she peered at the pod surrounding her with idle curiosity.

She glanced up and noticed V studying her with a blank expression on her face, as if she were miles away somewhere else. There was something off about her attitude ever since they returned to the city that put Elsa slightly at unease. Somehow, despite everything they had shared so far it was as if V had become more detached. It was there in the curtness of her replies and the indifferent looks that she gave Elsa, which bothered her given that she thought V had become slightly more open during some of their conversations. Now, it was as if a switch had been flipped and V had reverted to her cold demeanor.

"For starters, we need to get you jacked in," K replied as he reached around for a cord while interfacing with a holo-display in front of him. "You got a port or a cord?"

"Yes, on my neck," Elsa said as she swept her hair aside and exposed the neural port on the left side of her neck.

The neural port appeared innocuous enough and from a distance, one might surmise that it was a small tattoo or another similar marking. Beneath Elsa's left ear were faint, concentric lines that resembled the shape of a snowflake which at the center was the port that allowed her to physically plug into various forms of technology. It was the only part of Elsa that was actually made of synthetic material and yet it felt no different from ordinary flesh.

V looked on with vague interest as she observed K while he connected Elsa to the memory pod. "That doesn't hurt?" she asked when the memory pod booted up to life with blue lights and a soft hum.

"No," Elsa shook her head as she laid her head back against the seat and smiled thinly at V.

"Really?"

"There's a slight pinch, that's all."

"Huh," V shrugged and leaned in over to K as he worked. "I'll never understand why anyone would want something like that in their body. "

K scoffed and turned up to V. "Please. At least this one's subtle. You should see where some metalheads put their hardware. I once met this guy who liked to jack into machines using his co-"

"Agh!" V made a disgusted noise and turned away from K. "Gah, that's… I don't need to hear that."

"I'm serious, it's a true story!" K chuckled. "Said that was the only way he could feel what the machine was thinking."

V shook her head and chuckled along with K. "So he liked to fuck them, machines?" she said.

"That's what I said to him!" K laughed uproariously.

Meanwhile, Elsa had been listening to their whole conversation, feeling rather amused herself. Since she was made of flesh and bone like any other human, she possessed a set of fully functional sexual organs. The only exception that set Elsa apart from humans was that she was deliberately made sterile to prevent any attempts at reproduction; a safety measure implemented by VanirCorp.

"Alright," K rubbed his hands together and hit a few keys on the display in front of him, bringing the memory pod to standby. "You know how this works, Elsa?"

Elsa hesitated in responding as she thought they were still talking about fornication with machines. "Intercourse?" she asked delicately.

From the corner of her vision, she spotted V as she flushed red while K stifled some more laughter.

"No, no… the pods," K said once he gathered himself.

"Oh," Elsa smiled. "Yes, I do. V explained it to me."

"Did she also explain, ah… intercourse, to you?" K teased.

"Hey!" V turned around and slapped K on the shoulder. "Focus up! Can we get back on track?"

"Alright, alright," K turned and grinned at Elsa while he gestured towards her with a thumb. "Looks like someone could use some of that right now, am I ri- ow!" he was cut off when V punched him on the arm.

"I heard that," V said. "Now come on. Haven't got all day."

As that was happening, Elsa flushed red from the comment that K had made as she briefly pictured performing the act of intercourse with V. She was indeed beautiful, more beautiful than anyone else that Elsa had ever seen in her life. She took a moment to examine V's appearance, noticing the way the blue light from the memory pod blended with the ginger locks of her hair which was tied into a half-up-half-down bun with bangs over her forehead. From there on, Elsa noticed the sprinkling of freckles that were spread across her nose and over her cheeks, before she suddenly felt a curious urge to reach out and count each one with her fingers. However, it was V's eyes that Elsa was most fascinated by. They were mostly teal, dotted with errant flecks of a deeper shade of blue and beneath them, Elsa saw the most curious thing of all. The light inside almost appeared to be restrained somehow, as if they used to glow much more radiantly but were now dimmed. There was deep sadness hidden just beneath the surface..

"Okay then, Elsa," K said as he drew up a diagnostics screen and monitored her status. "First, I'm gonna take a look and see what we're dealing with here, is that alright?"

Elsa nodded. "Yes. By all means."

"Right on," K made an affirmative gesture with his fist as he turned his eyes towards the screen.

As he parsed through several layers of data, V came up behind him and watched on in curiosity.

K frowned as he passed through each level until he began muttering to himself. "What in the… this is… never seen this type of memory corruption before."

"What's the problem?" V asked as she leaned down to try and make sense of the data readings on the screen.

"It's her neural framework," K said as he pointed out a highlighted part of the screen. "Its… I think it's trying to interface with two separate minds, but… that can't be right… can it?"

"It's my condition," Elsa said as she peered up at V and K. "Part of the reason why I came here looking for your help."

"Con- condition? What condition, that you got two people inside your head?" K asked.

"Yes," Elsa replied simply.

K leaned back and ran a hand through his hair. "Well… I've never seen anything like this before. The neural framework is trying to translate the data it's finding inside your head but it looks like some of the memories are conflicting with each other."

"Yes, another part of my condition," Elsa replied then she reached down underneath her shirt below the bodysuit and felt around the lining until she produced a small flash drive. "Perhaps this could help."

V pointed with her chin at the foreign object. "What's that?"

"A portable drive containing all of my memory backups from each time I was reset. Maybe this can help untangle some of the corruption," Elsa replied as she held the drive out towards K.

"Woah, woah, woah… what the hell is this?" K peered down at the drive and frowned deeply. "Fucking 2020? This technology is ancient, where did you get this?"

"From a friend of mine," Elsa replied, intentionally being vague to protect Theodore's identity.

K shrugged and accepted the drive. "You were right, V," he turned up at her. "Whatever is going on here, I'm sure I don't want to know about it," he rose from his chair and went into a side room where he began to audibly rummage through various boxes. "I gotta find a converter for this drive… if I even have one that is."

As he searched for the converter, Elsa breathed in and out deeply then settled more comfortably in her seat as she tried to ease her racing nerves. Here she was, on the verge of uncovering the answers she had been searching for and now that she was at this moment, she felt nothing but trepidation. Elsa had no idea if this would even work, much less what to expect from her lost memories if she was able to recover them. All she knew was that V somehow lay at the center of it all, the truth behind which Elsa hoped to discover in short order.

 _Perhaps I should tell her now,_ Elsa thought. _I would not have made it here without her help, after all._

As she debated internally whether or not she should inform V of their hypothesized connection, V sighed deeply and blew a lock of hair away from her eyes as she sat down in K's chair. She turned around in a slow circle, all the while bouncing one of her feet up and down rapidly from impatience.

"V?" Elsa started.

"Hm?" V glanced over.

"I… wanted to thank you," Elsa said as she lost the courage to say what she truly wanted to.

V squinted at her. "Thank me for what?"

"For helping me and leading me here. You have been kind to me."

"Well, don't," V looked away from Elsa and shook her head softly. "I don't know anything about kindness."

"Still, I just wanted you to know-"

"I said don't thank me," V said firmly, quashing any further argument from Elsa. "Really… you- just don't."

Elsa frowned, but didn't press the issue any further. She still wasn't sure why V was acting strange, but she could clearly see that something was bothering her greatly, even if V didn't say as much.

"Found it!" K called from the other room.

Shortly after, he emerged holding a converter along with a tangle of wires that he was unraveling as he approached his chair.

V stretched languidly then rose so that K could resume his spot as he fiddled around with the older tech in his hands. After a few short minutes of muttering beneath his breath while he connected wires here and there, K managed to get the converter up and running.

"Here we go," K said as he typed away on a physical keyboard and squinted up at the holo-display. "Should be good to go now."

"Once you've connected the drive, I should be able to synchronize with the memory backups and clear the corruption you're seeing," Elsa explained casually as she had already repeated this same process enough times with Theodore.

"Okay," K said as he took the drive and plugged it into the converter. "And it just… happens? Just like that?"

"Yes," Elsa nodded.

K shrugged. "If you say so," he said as he inserted the drive.

Nothing appeared to happen at first, but internally, Elsa was already experiencing a multitude of sensations and flashes that all appeared dull and unfocused.

"Look at that," K muttered as he observed the diagnostics screen.

The memory corruption had already cleared, presenting a large number of readable memories that the pod could bring up. All that was left was for Elsa to hone in on the specific ones she was looking for.

And so, Elsa did just that by thinking of V.


	17. The Choice

* * *

"Okay, Elsa," K said as he clacked away on a keyboard and observed Elsa's vital signs and brain activity which were all holding stable. "Diagnostics are looking good, so you can go ahead and start the recall."

Anna looked up from the bionic arm she was examining, then set it down. Afterward, she went over to K's side where he brought up another holo-display that mirrored the one that Elsa was already looking at so that all three of them could collectively view her memories. She had to admit that she was a little curious as to Elsa's origin story and so, Anna pulled up a chair and sat next to K.

"Alright," Elsa glanced around nervously until she found Anna.

She smiled thinly then turned her attention back to her own screen, apparently not minding the audience that would be viewing her own memories alongside her. Elsa then closed her eyes and leaned her head back as she settled in more comfortably. Seconds later, images began to flash before them.

At first there was a dizzying array of different snapshots from Elsa's life that she flicked through rapidly. Anna watched as Elsa's life unfolded before her, from tragic beginning to middle to end. The scenes she saw were initially disjointed and confusing without context, but eventually Elsa appeared to piece together a cohesive narrative that Anna could understand.

Elsa started with what was apparently the moment of her creation when she opened her eyes for the first time. Anna felt a little nausea at viewing someone else's perspective through her own, but she did note that Elsa appeared to be in a large white room of some kind. When Elsa first started speaking, Anna also noticed that her voice was that of a young girl.

_Subject: Enhanced Learning Systems Android. Serial number, EXG7-00.1. Let's begin shall we?_

_Wha- what happened? Where am I?_

_How are you feeling?_

_I- I don't understand, where am I? Who are you?_

_Elsa, please, try to relax, you're in a safe place._

_That's not my name! My name is… it's… What the hell is this!? What's going on?!_

Anna shifted in her seat uncomfortably, watching through Elsa's eyes as she looked down at her hands and began to struggle against the restraints that kept her there.

_What do you people want! Where's my si-!_

Whatever the past version of Elsa was about to say was suddenly cut off when she managed to rip one of her arms free from the restraint. She looked down at her own hands, then glanced back up at the impassive wall which she had been speaking to.

_Let me out of this chair! Where's my sister! What have you done with- agh!_

Anna felt the blood in her veins chill as she stiffened up. She had heard Elsa clearly when she made mention of a sister. The present version of Elsa had never mentioned this to her and Anna realized how close to home that struck. Whoever she once was, Elsa evidently had a sister that she didn't remember having until now.

The past version of Elsa's vision went black and Anna surmised that she was rendered unconscious somehow judging by the cry of pain that she let out. For a moment, it occurred to Anna that she might have more in common with Elsa than she previously thought. Perhaps, too much in common, but Anna didn't know it yet. She barely had time to give this frightening notion any further thought as the next scene began to play out.

_Who are you?_

Anna snapped back to attention and refocused on Elsa's memory. She was standing in the same white room, observing her reflection in an opaque glass window. Anna then noticed that this version of Elsa both sounded and looked older than she had in the first memory.

_Who… are you?_

Elsa's eyes were round and wide with curiosity as she studied her own appearance. However, in the next moment, her brows narrowed and her countenance hardened.

_Who are you? Who are you!_

She fell to her knees as she appeared to be overcome by pain. When Elsa looked up back at her reflection, Anna saw that her face was contorted with agony as she clutched either side of her head, tousling her white hair. The innocent look for eyes had morphed and Anna saw fear and confusion.

_Who are you!?_

Anna flinched when Elsa suddenly struck her reflection, the blow of which managed to crack and splinter the thick glass, splitting Elsa's image down the middle.

_Who... are you?!_

Elsa's face twisted into a mask of fury and sorrow as she began to repeatedly punch the glass, bloodying her fist.

_Who are you!? Who are you! Who are you!_

Anna finally tore her eyes away from the screen and looked down at the same woman seated close by. Elsa's eyes were still closed but the calm face she usually wore had been replaced with a tight, pained expression as she dragged up her past from the lost corners of her mind. With horrible realization, Anna was finally beginning to understand the awful things that had been done to Elsa. She felt something constrict around her heart and Anna knew that familiar old feeling to be regret and pity.

_Who are you… '_

Anna watched as the previous version of Elsa let her fingers slide down the glass where they settled upon a large and jagged shard. She was studying her reflection again and turning the shard over in her hand which Anna could already sense what she was going to do with next.

_Who… am I?_

"Jesus," K breathed in sharply as he winced, witnessing what Elsa was doing to herself in her memory and reminding Anna of his presence.

She looked back to the screen and saw that Elsa had taken the shard of glass and cut open her palm. Her blood was red like any other humans and it surprised Anna how visceral it was. She felt further disquiet in her heart and tried to squash the feeling down, but was unsuccessful when she looked over to Elsa's left hand and saw the scar there on her upturned palm.

_Who am I?_

Anna quickly turned back to the screen and nearly yelped when she saw Elsa observing her own reflection with cold impassivity as she held the shard of glass to her own throat. Elsa then raised the shard higher against her neck and just before she could cut it open side to side, her vision blurred and darkened once more, indicating that forces beyond her control prevented her from killing herself.

She then heard Elsa release a shaky breath, causing Anna to turn around and look at her. Before Anna could ask if Elsa was alright, the next scene began to play out.

_Elsa, please come with me, darling._

_What's going on?_

_Elsa, Come along now._

_I don't know what's happening. Why are you doing this?_

In her memory, Elsa backed away from Matilda until she was up against the edge of a desk where she struck something that fell over. As Elsa glanced backwards, Anna saw the same thing that she had seen and froze completely. It was only for an instant, but they both saw a yellow flower preserved inside of a glass jar which Anna recognized immediately. She suddenly felt very nauseous and buried her face in her hands. Anna felt like she had slipped into a nightmare that she couldn't wake from. It continued on unrelentingly, until Elsa's panicked voice cut through the white noise that was filling Anna's head.

_What's happening to me?! Who am I?!_

_Elsa, this is for your own good. Come, It's time for another session._

With increasing horror, Anna continued to watch on as some type of collar was placed around Elsa's neck. Her mind was racing with thoughts about the unmistakable flower she had just seen that had once belonged to her mother, in addition to being a witness to the cruel torture that Elsa about to endure. Through it all, she couldn't form a complete string of thought as her mind jumped from one to the next. There was simply too much going on that she couldn't make sense of and Anna desperately found herself struggling to breathe.

_What? I haven't done anything!_

_The problem isn't what you've done, darling. It's what you know._

_No, no! Please, don't do this!_

_Silence her._

_No! Please! I'll be good, I promise! I'll be good! Don't put me in the machine! I can be good, don't do this! I beg yo- mmnh!_

_To think, you were doing so well, Elsa. I'm disappointed in you._

Before she even realized it, Anna was completely tensed up as her eyes were glued to the screen that began to show the awful torture that Elsa had endured. She was hooked up to some cruel looking machine in that familiar white room again as in front of her, a team of indifferent scientists looked on. Whatever collar they had placed on Elsa appeared to limit her strength, as Anna noted how much difficulty she had in attempting to free herself from the restraints she previously had no issues dealing with.

_Alright, let's run it again. Beginning memory sequence in three… two… one._

Anna shut her eyes in a vain attempt to block out the horrible imagery she was witnessing. Elsa's screams of sheer and utter agony echoed throughout the room as she was subjected to FMR therapy. Her suffering was long and drawn out and Anna felt a pit of dread form in her stomach as Elsa's painful cries tore at her heart, mind, and soul. Even so, the discomfort she was feeling now was nothing in comparison to the pain that Elsa experienced in having her mind torn asunder. A crunch of metal caught Anna's ear and she looked over to Elsa, whose face was now a mask of twisted agony as she replayed the traumatic event in her mind. She was gripping the armrests of her seat so tightly that she had managed to deform them while her whole body was completely rigid as if she were being electrocuted again. Elsa's lips were trembling, her eyes were darting around rapidly beneath her eyelids, and she was whimpering softly while a single teardrop rolled down the curve of her cheek.

It was a heartbreaking sight, which was enough to send Anna's mind into a tailspin. She felt very sick all of a sudden as her breathing came in ragged gasps and her throat became parched.

"Fuck, I ca- I can't watch this anymore," Anna said as she rose to her feet and rapidly started making her way out of the room, leaving K and Elsa behind without as much as a second glance.

She entered a corridor outside of the room and leaned her head against the wall as she tried to catch her breath. Anna felt bile rising in her throat and she struggled to push it down, clamping a hand over her mouth where she felt her wet and tear-stained cheeks. She hadn't even realized she was crying, which distressed her even further.

"Fuck… fuck," Anna whimpered to herself. "What the fuck! I can't… I- I can't deal with this, fuck!"

She bit her fist until she drew blood, drawing on the pain as a way to pull her back down the earth while her mind continued to race.

"Why the fuck did Rosenthal have mom's flower? H- how did she even get it?" Anna hissed to herself.

In that same moment of panicked questioning, another, far more heinous thought entered her mind.

"Elsa! Her donor… no, no, no it can't be. Nora… no, this is… a mistake, this is a coincidence! She can't… she can't be…"

Anna continued to deny it as she paced back and forth, sniffling and drying her tears as she went. The possibility that Elsa was Nora was far too twisted and shocking for her to even consider and yet, a smaller part continued to entertain that thought and even hoped for it. As she considered the facts, some things began to line up far too neatly for them to be a mere coincidence.

For starters, the fact that Elsa was the spitting image of Nora was perhaps the most obvious sign. Secondly, many of the details of her origins also lined up perfectly with the nature of Nora's death. Elsa didn't know who her donor was, but according to her she had been made in the same year that Nora died. That, coupled with the fact that Anna never knew what became of Nora's body was enough for her to start having some serious doubts.

Still, Anna couldn't believe it. In fact, she stubbornly refused to believe it. Much of her whole life had been spent without Nora and Anna had buried her, or at least performed the act in an attempt to move on. Anna had lost Nora, Anna had mourned Nora, and after a while, Anna had thought she let go of Nora. Even though she missed her everyday, Nora was dead and gone and nothing could change that. To entertain the possibility that she lived again through Elsa was to cling to an impossible hope that she now knew better than to have.

"I need a goddamn drink," Anna sighed as she wiped away the last of her tears.

In a hurry, she exited the backstage area and made her way to the bar where Frankie was presently speaking with a patron of the Memory Palace.

"Whiskey," Anna said as she waved to Frankie.

"Just a minute, V," Frankie said as he held up a finger then continued conversing with the other patron.

Anna on the other hand was in no mood to be tested right now and she slammed her fist down on the counter, shocking the other two. "Now, damn it!" she growled.

Frankie glanced between Anna and the patron and chuckled sheepishly before making his way over to Anna. Wordlessly he pulled down a bottle of the alcohol and poured Anna a drink.

"Leave the bottle," Anna muttered as she swallowed the liquid with one easy swig.

She then transferred Frankie a sum of credits that more than covered the bottle as compensation for her attitude. Rather than question Anna, Frankie left her to drink in peace as he returned to his conversation with the patron at the other end of the bar.

"What am I gonna do?" Anna sighed as she started to pour another drink for herself, however, she thought better of it and instead took another swig straight from the bottle.

_Elsa can't be Nora, she just can't,_ Anna thought. _I can't deal with this, I can't help her… I can barely help myself. This is getting way too messy… I should have just turned her over as soon as I found her._

Anna then reached a decision without much further thought as the longer she considered it, the less likely she was to do it. Acting while she still had the resolve that was bolstered by the alcohol, Anna grabbed the bottle and took another long sip as she walked out of the Memory Palace to make her call.

"Alright," Anna wiped her mouth and brought up her omni-pad as she stepped outside. "Let's do this, Anna. While you can still think straight, just get this over with. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can drink ourselves stupid and forget any of this ever happened."

Anna brought up Matilda's contact information and after she cast a wary glance around her, she called her. Nothing happened for a few moments, then suddenly, Matilda's face appeared in the holo-display before her.

"I trust you come to me with information about my daughter?" Matilda asked, skipping ahead straight to business.

Anna swallowed a thick lump in her throat and pushed down the remaining doubts in her mind. "Yeah. I found her."

"Where is she?" Matilda demanded. "Is she safe?"

"I'm sending you my location," Anna replied.

"Very good," Matilda nodded tersely. "I'm dispatching an escort to pick her up. Hand her over to Kai and he'll provide you with your payment."

"And the bonus?"

"Well earned."

"I'll be waiting," Anna said and without waiting for a response, she terminated the connection.

Anna sighed heavily as one part of her mentally berated herself while another tried to justify her actions. Preferring not to listen to either side at the moment, Anna pressed the whiskey bottle to her lips and swallowed down the remaining alcohol before tossing the empty thing aside where it shattered to pieces. Appropriately buzzed and prepared for the coming trouble, Anna turned on her heels and stumbled back inside the Memory Palace. She found K and Elsa where she had left them, though in the time that Anna was gone it appeared that Elsa had fallen fast asleep as she lay unconscious on a gurney as K monitored her vitals.

"What happened?" Anna asked as she approached the pair.

K looked over from the terminal. "Well, we were able to learn one thing that could be useful."

"Which is?"

"Elsa wasn't created at VanirCorp, but an off-site facility called Gjallarbrú. It's all here in her files," K answered then scowled as soon as he detected the whiskey on Anna's breath. "Jesus, Anna, have you been drinking?" he addressed her by her real name as an added reprimand.

"What's it to you?" Anna countered, then changed the subject. "What's with her? Why is she sleeping?"

K looked over to Elsa. "I had to sedate her, she became… unstable, I don't know. Her nose was bleeding, she was convulsing, it looked like a seizure."

Anna swallowed down the small guilt she felt, nearly choking on it.

"Anna, what the fuck is going on here? That was Matilda fucking Rosenthal in her memories. Is Elsa the missing daughter you were supposed to find?"

"Yeah… yeah," Anna sighed. "But don't worry, this whole thing will be over soon."

"Wait, wait, wait. Just hold on a second," K stood up from his chair and fixed Anna with a hard stare. "You're not thinking of handing her over are you?"

"What the hell do you care?"

"Are you serious? You saw what they did to her."

Anna shrugged. "She's an android," she replied bluntly.

"She seems pretty damn human to me," K countered.

"She's not my responsibility!"

"Bullshit, she isn't!" K shouted, which took Anna off guard as he rarely raised his voice. "You found her, you brought her here!"

"What do you want me to do?" Anna replied as she threw her hands up in a helpless gesture. "I'm just one person, I can't help her with what she needs."

"This… is wrong, Anna, and you know it."

"K, I keep telling you, that bleeding heart of yours is gonna get you killed one day," Anna looked away from him as she couldn't bear the judgmental look on his face. "Just leave the moral dilemma to me, alright? I'll deal with this."

K fixed Anna with a hard stare as he crossed his arms, meanwhile Anna kept her gaze at the far wall but she could still see him in the corner of her eye. Neither of them said anything for a while until eventually, the sound of a skycar touching down outside caught their attention.

"What the-"

"Must be her ride," Anna muttered as she went over to Elsa and looked down on her.

For everything she had just re-lived, Elsa looked remarkably peaceful and serene as she slept. Whatever sedative K had given her must have been potent to put the enhanced android under, which gave Anna a small amount of comfort as she wouldn't be conscious for the hard part that came next.

"You called them here?!" K exclaimed as he rounded on Anna with fury in his eyes. "Are you kidding me, you bought fucking corpos to my doorstep!"

"I'm sorry, K. Really, I am," Anna said submissively. "But I tried to help her, I did! She asked me to help restore her memories and I brought her here because I didn't know what the fuck else to do!"

"Yeah, for all the good that did her," K shot back. "And what? Now you're just gonna hand her back to the people who are gonna torture her! How could you be so cold?"

Anna turned away from K once more, pushing down the anger she felt at herself and her guilt. He was right of course, but Anna truly felt at a loss for what else she could possibly do. She just had no idea how she could help Elsa recover her memories and her identity, but more than that, Anna was scared of what she could possibly find. The truth was, Anna had her suspicions from the beginning and over their time together, as more of the puzzle pieces began to fall into place, a small hope began to grow in her heart.

But it was impossible and it could never happen. Anna had hoped once long ago and that hope was taken from her when Nora was killed. Even if Elsa reminded her in every way of Nora, Anna just couldn't see it. She refused to see it, for even just the possibility of who Elsa once was scared her beyond reason. It wasn't fair to Elsa and it was cruel, Anna knew that. But the world was an unfair and cruel place, which is what Anna repeated to herself to justify her decision.

"What do you want me to do?" Anna asked. "I said I was sorry."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," K replied as he gestured to Elsa. "She needs you, Anna. And if you do this, if you turn your back on her, there's no coming back for you. I just hope you can find a way to live with yourself afterwards."

Anna flinched but she knew she deserved those harsh words from K. Whatever happened next, Anna planned to cope with it the same she always had, by drowning her sorrows in drink, wallowing in her misery, and longing for death.

"Me too," Anna said softly.

With that, she scooped Elsa's unconscious body up into her arms and started making her way out of the Memory Palace. Anna caught some confused looks from Frankie and Darla as she slipped out, but she paid them no mind. Soon, she stepped out from the double doors to the outside where she found that familiar android, Kai, awaiting her along with retinue of other bodyguards.

"Hello, Miss Tyrell," Kai greeted as he stepped forward, bringing a gurney alongside him.

"Let's just get this over with," Anna grumbled. "You got my credits?"

"Just a moment please," Kai said as he looked Elsa up and down, examining her state. "I need to examine Elsa. Would you kindly set her down here?" he asked as he gestured towards the gurney.

"She's fine, alright? I just sedated her," Anna replied impatiently.

Still, she did as she was asked and gently placed Elsa down before stepping away to allow the android to perform its inspection.

"So it would appear, nonetheless Miss Rosenthal was very clear that Elsa was to be returned unharmed. She will be glad to see that Elsa is well," Kai replied as he performed a scan of Elsa's body.

As Kai finished his examination, he placed a collar around Elsa's slender neck and clicked it into place. Anna had seen a similar once placed around Elsa's neck from her memories.

"What is that?" Anna asked.

"Suppression collar," Kai replied. "Limits her strength and prevents her from harming herself or others. I am sure you have already seen displays of her enhanced capabilities."

"Yeah, I have," Anna said softly, remembering the time when Elsa had rescued her from the crash and the second time she saved her life from the scavver who had nearly drowned her.

She gazed down upon Elsa's sleeping face and suddenly felt more unsure of herself. Elsa had saved Anna's life twice over and the most that she had done in return for her was to watch over her as she slept, just as she was doing now. Even though they had agreed that they were even, this was not true. It was a vain attempt to deflect some of the responsibility she now felt for Elsa which was easier than to admit to the fact that a smaller, more stubborn part of Anna actually wanted to help the poor woman from suffering any further injustice.

A few minutes ago she had firmly made up her mind to turn Elsa over and be done with the whole ordeal, but now, she found herself deeply conflicted as she questioned herself over and over.

_What if… she can't be but what if… Elsa's donor was Nora? It would explain a lot,_ Anna asked herself.

_Then that's the truth that you'll have to face together,_ the smaller part of Anna replied.

_But she died. How can she be alive and not alive at the same time? I don't even know how I'm supposed to help her… I don't know what to do._

_No… but you'll figure it out. You couldn't help Nora but you can still help Elsa, and… maybe that's enough._

"Then you understand the need for caution," Kai said as he slipped a pair of metal restraints around Elsa's wrists.

Anna scowled. "Christ, is that really necessary? You've already got her," she glanced over and thought Elsa had stirred slightly in her sleep.

"I believe this concludes your business with us," Kai said, ignoring Anna's protests. "Here, your payment," he said as he transferred her a sum of three-and-a-half million credits. "Miss Rosenthal wanted to reward you with an increased payment for your timely retrieval of Elsa, and as a means to ensure your silence on the whole matter. Do you understand?"

Anna understood well enough, but now that she had finally received her payment for one of the most difficult jobs she had ever done, she felt nothing but shame. She knew then no matter how much she drank or how far she tried to run from her problems, they would haunt her forever. Her heinous betrayal of Elsa's trust and confidence would be the final thing that pushed over the edge towards the only possible escape that she could think of.

Suicide. There was simply no way that Anna could live with herself if she did this.

"Miss Tyrell? Are we clear on the matter?" Kai asked again.

"Yeah, I got it. Keep my mouth shut or else," Anna nodded and rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"V?" Elsa mumbled as she woke from her sleep. "No… not again. V?" she looked around in confusion and a split-second later, she registered what was happening to her.

Anna locked eyes with Elsa then, and what she saw was a look of complete hurt, fear, and betrayal.

"What did you do?" Elsa asked.

With her last question, Anna's heart and the rest of her walls came crashing down. She was undone.

"Indeed. I advised that you be terminated, as it would be safer but Miss Rosenthal thought otherwise. Apparently, you reminded her of someone she once knew," Kai said coolly, then turned around to deal with Elsa. "In any case, we must depart now."

Meanwhile, Elsa started to struggle against the restraints tying her down to the gurney with all of her limited strength. Two of the bodyguards also went over to hold her down, which panicked her even further as they began to take her away. All the while, Anna continued to stare dumbly in shock as she was struck by a crisis of conscience.

"V! Please!" Elsa begged as tears streamed down her face. "Don't let them do this!" she sobbed. "Please, don't let them take me away. _Please_!"

With her closest hand, Elsa reached out as far as she could towards Anna.

"Let go of me! Let go!" Elsa screamed as she thrashed around on the gurney in hysterical panic. "V!" she yelled.

Anna's breath caught in her throat as in that moment of pleading from Elsa, she was transported to her last memory of Nora nearly thirteen years ago. For just a second, Anna didn't see or hear Elsa, but instead she saw, heard, and felt Nora as if she were standing right there in front of her.

It was then that Anna made her choice. "Fuck it," she muttered as she reached for her hand cannon.

Distracted as they were with dealing with Elsa, none of the androids paid Anna any further mind which was their fatal mistake. Anna immediately double-tapped the bodyguards dragging Elsa away, placing a shot in the middle of their chest and then their head with deadly accuracy. They crumpled to the ground in a smoking heap, releasing their hold on Elsa as she looked around in shock.

Kai turned around and attempted to close the gap between him and Anna before he too met a similar fate. With all of the androids dispatched, Anna quickly went over to Elsa's side and tore the suppression collar off her neck.

"V?" Elsa said shakily, almost reverently as if she couldn't believe that she was being saved. "What are you doing?"

"What's it look like?" Anna replied as she unfastened Elsa's restraints. "I'm saving your ass. Now come on, we gotta go!"


	18. The Ship of Theseus

* * *

Elsa followed closely behind V, mute as a stone, as she led them down through winding alleyways and streets towards wherever they were going. News of their escape from the clutches of VanirCorp travelled fast as shortly after V had her change of heart, it seemed that the entire city was abuzz with activity. Police and corporate security were out in force, patrolling the skies and the streets for the escaped android and the private detective aiding her.

"Guess Rosenthal isn't really happy with me, huh?" V chuckled as she brought up her omni-pad and disabled the calling and messaging functions.

Once she was finished, she glanced at Elsa and tried to smile.

Elsa simply fixed V with a blank stare as she was still unsure of what to make of the woman who had nearly handed her back to her captors. For a moment back there, it felt as if her entire world had come crashing down from V's betrayal. The short stint of freedom she was able to enjoy, the remarkable things she was able to experience, the woman she had been searching for her entire life. All of that would have been meaningless and Elsa had practically resigned herself to a life of torment right then and there. That was at least until V killed the three androids, took her by the hand, and dragged her away into the depths of the city.

The small smile faded from V's face and she swallowed thickly, then turned back to survey the streets below and the air above. "We should, err… we should keep moving," she said, clearly uncomfortable by Elsa's continued silence.

She didn't blame V of course, she wasn't even angry with her. All Elsa felt was a strange sort of abandonment and sadness from how little V clearly regarded her. It hurt her to see, but from the beginning she already knew that she was asking too much of V by enlisting her help alone. By now, she had revealed more tidbits from her past, but they were all still disjointed and fragmented, leaving Elsa with more questions rather than answers. Still, their trip to the Memory Palace hadn't been entirely useless as K was able to uncover one vital piece of information that could possibly lead to more answers.

Elsa wasn't originally made at the VanirCorp headquarters, but rather an off-site research facility known as Gjallarbrú which was located somewhere to the north in upstate New York. The only issue was that crossing those lands was dangerous as they had been transformed into sprawling toxic wastes. Still, if Elsa was to uncover the truth of who she once she was, then that was where she had to go. The only question that remained was what would become of V.

As they continued walking through the streets, evading roaming patrols of androids and police officers, they eventually came upon a large square that was lit up by the neon glow of numerous signs and billboards. The largest one stood tall over the square and held a troubling message that branded Elsa and V as fugitives, as well as two images of their faces.

> _WANTED: VERONICA TYRELL and ELSA ROSENTHAL_
> 
> _6,000,000 Cr REWARD for capturing and returning these individuals to the custody of VanirCorp alive and unharmed._
> 
> _They are considered to be ARMED and DANGEROUS._

"Fuck," V hissed. "She put a bounty out on us!"

Elsa studied the sign with vague interest, then returned her gaze to V who quickly dragged her off the street towards a more densely packed marketplace. There, V pulled up the collar around her long-coat so that it obscured the lower half of her face, then examined Elsa's appearance.

"We've gotta do something about your face," V said. "Wait right here, I'll be back."

Elsa glanced up in confusion as V slipped over to a nearby stall that held different clothing accessories, then, when the vendor wasn't looking she quickly grabbed a gray scarf and returned to where Elsa was standing.

"Here," V said as she wrapped the scarf around Elsa's neck and face to cover up her appearance.

Elsa simply let V do whatever she was doing. Once she was finished, she stepped back and gave a nod of approval.

"Good. We won't have to worry about your hair. Lots of people dye their hair crazy colors so you'll blend right in," V chuckled and smiled thinly again.

Elsa simply nodded her understanding and then looked away from V. She was certainly grateful that V had decided to free her, but was uncertain why she continued to help her. From Elsa's perspective and from the parts of her conversation with Kai that she was able to hear, V had already been paid and as such had no further obligation to her. That, in addition to the fact that Elsa was well aware of V's stance on androids further compounded the confusion she felt.

 _Why hasn't she left me yet?_ Elsa thought. _She planned to get rid of me from the very beginning, that much is clear now. Why is she still here?_

"Okay," V murmured as her smile vanished. "Let's keep moving."

She then took Elsa by the hand, who didn't resist and continued leading her through the marketplace until they exited out into a series of alleyways. There they walked along, avoiding groups of civilians and random patrols until they reached an industrial quarter.

All around them were various factories and warehouses, whose smokestacks belched thick clouds of noxious fumes into the sky. As bad it was for the environment, it also had the benefit of obstructing air-traffic, which meant it was safer to Elsa and V to travel out in the open here. This part of New York was less populated given that most factories and production lines were manned by androids or were completely automated, thereby eliminating the need for human workers. Soon, the pair walked alone through streets that were empty and lined with soot, accompanied only by the sound of distant clanking metal and roaring furnaces.

"Here," V pointed to what appeared to be an abandoned building as they approached it. "This place looks empty. We can hole up here for a while."

The pair entered through a shattered window, then went further inside so that they were out of sight and found themselves standing on an old factory floor. It was chilly, quiet, and more than anything else it was dusty, indicating that nobody had been through in a long time. Still, V performed a quick sweep of the building to ensure that they were alone before they came to a rest inside of an old office that overlooked the factory floor.

V sighed as she unbuttoned her long-coat and exposed her face once more. Next, she sat down on a dusty rolling chair and buried her face in her hands. Following her cue, Elsa loosened her scarf from around her face but remained standing as she studied V. After a while, V looked up and shied away from Elsa's gaze, then stood up and began pacing back and forth.

It was a sign that she was uncomfortable, which Elsa had now realized.

"Alright, the silent treatment is killing me," V said as she ran a hand through her crimson locks. "You haven't said a word since we left the Memory Palace, c- could you just talk to me? Say something. Say anything!" she paused and looked at Elsa.

Elsa remained silent, but continued looking at V.

"Okay, look," V sighed as she resumed pacing. "I- I know that was a really shitty thing I did back there okay? I- it's just… I- I… heard the way you were screaming and… you just… it reminded me of… well… _her,_ " she said, referring to Nora.

Elsa noticed that in the few times they spoke of her sister, V never mentioned or referred to Nora by her name. It was easy enough to tell from her demeanor that it was still far too painful for her to bring her up.

"And that's when I knew I had to help you," V rambled on. "I know that doesn't excuse what I did, I know that," she paused once more and fixed Elsa with a vulnerable look. "You have every right to be angry at me, trust me, I'm angry at myself. I'm really just… angry at myself all the time. But this is different somehow, like it's worse and I feel really awful for what I did and I'm getting off track, the point is," she sighed heavily and took a step closer to Elsa. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. I want to make it right by helping you, so could you please just talk to me?"

"I'm not angry with you," Elsa said softly.

"What?" V snapped up and stepped closer. "You're not?"

"No," Elsa said as she turned in a slow circle to examine her surroundings before meeting V's gaze once more. "You had your reasons."

"M- maybe, but… really? You aren't mad that I handed you back to them? That… I did it for the credits?"

"No," Elsa repeated.

V was flabbergasted. "How can you be so okay with everything?"

"Because I see the way you look at me," Elsa said quietly as she looked away from V to hide the sadness on her face. "You hate androids, I know that. To you, I'm no different. You think I'm an abomination… a _freak_. I see it in your face and I hear it in the way you talk to me. I understand where that hatred comes from so I can't blame you for what you did."

Regret filled V's face as she took a step forward. She stuttered for words as she attempted to form a response but nothing came out.

Elsa looked up and smiled sadly. "Besides, it wouldn't have mattered what I wanted because I wouldn't have been able to remember it. Not if they had their way."

A pained expression settled across V's face as she took another hesitant step closer. "Elsa…"

"It's okay, V, really," Elsa said. "You don't owe me anything else and you don't have to help me anymore."

"Th- that's not my name," V said, looking guilty as she did.

Elsa looked puzzled as she frowned at her. "What do you mean?"

"V isn't my real name, I lied to you. My real name is… it's Anna."

"Anna," Elsa repeated, then regarded the red-haired woman again as if for the first time. "You lied to me from the very beginning, didn't you? You planned to hand me over from the start, you never wanted to help me."

There was something special about her name. Elsa knew that to be true just then as soon as she had heard it.

"I… I didn't want this," Anna muttered weakly and looked away.

"And you think I did?" Elsa countered, suddenly angered. "You think that I asked for this, for any of this?" she said, pointing to her head as tears lined her eyes and sorrow filled her voice. "Well I didn't! I didn't ask to be made! I didn't ask to be torn apart and put back together over and over and turned into some… some kind of _monster_!"

"I meant that I didn't want any of this to happen!" Anna yelled back. "Ugh!" she turned around and slapped her forehead. "Why is this so hard for me to say? Look, I was being selfish. It wasn't fair to you a- and… it wasn't right and I'm just… not a good person, I get that. So I guess what I'm really trying to say is that I want to make it up to you, for everything."

Elsa noticed that Anna's own voice was shaky as her lip trembled. She then crossed her arms and looked away and for a few moments, neither of them were able to look at each other. Despite what she had said, Elsa didn't think of her that way. Anna may have been a flawed person, but that was natural and that was human. As for her statement about not being a good person, Elsa thought that wasn't true either.

This conversation alone was a testament to that fact, not to mention that Anna had a chance to walk away and instead she chose to risk her life to help her in her own mission. That on its own was enough reason for Elsa to believe that deep down, Anna was a good person. She had just been saddled with the misfortune of a lifetime of misery, not unlike Elsa.

"I'm sorry," Elsa said softly after her anger vanished. "I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"No, no," Anna shook her head as she closed the remaining distance to Elsa and stood in front of her. "Don't apologize to me, I deserve to be yelled at right now. Honestly, I- I deserve a lot worse."

"So why are you helping me?" Elsa asked.

"I… I don't really know," Anna sighed and shook her head. "It's just… the right thing to do. And for the record… I don't think that you're a monster, o- or a freak, or anything else like that. So don't… don't talk about yourself like that. You wallow in that kind of self-loathing, you'll eventually wind up like me," she chuckled mirthlessly.

"But you hate androids," Elsa said. "You said as much yourself."

"Yeah, yeah, but… I guess I don't see you like that. It's… I don't know, it's complicated. I know I don't hate you," Anna said as she bit her lip and turned her head to the side. "So, is… that okay? Will you let me help you? I know you have every reason not to trust me anymore and I totally get it if you want me to just fuck off. But I can help you… I _want_ to help you because I need to make it right."

Elsa regarded Anna carefully while she took in her words. Regret and sorrow lined every feature of Anna's face and she was clearly desperate for any kind of penance.

"Please, I- I'll… you can, shit I don't know, you can hit me if you want. I know I deserve it, I know what I did was wrong," Anna shut her eyes as she braced herself. "So just do it, come on. I can take it."

"I don't want to hit you," Elsa said delicately.

"Then how can I make it up to you?" Anna asked helplessly.

Elsa stepped up until her face was right in front of Anna's. "You can start by never lying to me again."

Anna opened her eyes as her expression turned vulnerable. "Okay, of course, yeah. No more lies, I promise."

"What's your full name?" Elsa asked, her face turning more serious.

"Anna Dewitt."

"Everything you told me about your sister, Nora, was that all true?"

"Yes," Anna nodded shakily. "Yes, it was."

"And your parents?"

"Yeah, that was all true as well."

Elsa's expression softened. "Do you really want to help me?"

"I do," Anna replied firmly.

"Anna."

"Elsa?"

"I forgive you."

"Wh- what?" Anna recoiled in shock. "Just like that?"

"Yes," Elsa replied simply. "I've decided to trust you again."

Anna shook her head in disbelief. Her face changed from surprise, to confusion, to happiness, then back to sorrow. She opened her mouth and stammered for several moments, after which she stopped trying to speak altogether. Instead, she decided to surprise Elsa by moving forward as she pulled her into a hug.

 _Oh,_ Elsa thought. _This is nice._

Feeling how invitingly warm and soft Anna's touch was, Elsa returned the gesture by wrapping her own arms around her in turn. Together, they stayed like that for a long while, and since Elsa was still unsure of proper hug etiquette, she didn't break off until Anna did first.

"So," Anna chuckled a bit nervously. "Did you, um, did you learn anything?"

"I did," Elsa replied. "It seems that K was able to discover from the files stored on the backup drive that I wasn't originally created at the headquarters of VanirCorp."

Anna nodded. "Yeah, he… he uh, told me about that when I… before I…"

Sensing her meaning, Elsa reached out and squeezed Anna's arm reassuringly.

"Yeah… ahem, anyways," Anna sniffed. "This place, Yalla- yallo… yalloo-"

"Gjallarbrú," Elsa said.

"Yeah, what kind of name is that?"

"It stems from Norse mythology. Gjallarbrú is the bridge that connects the realms of the living and the dead. Fitting, for the type of work they did there."

"Which is?"

"You're looking at it," Elsa shrugged.

"A ha," Anna chuckled wryly. "So, how do we get there?"

"I believe it's specific location was noted on the files that were on the drive."

"Okay, great," Anna perked up. "Do you still have it?"

Elsa shook her head. "No. I'm afraid it was left behind at the Memory Palace."

"Not great," Anna deflated. "Shit, that place has got to be crawling with corpos now. I hope K's alright."

"What can we do?" Elsa asked.

Anna sighed and threw her hands up in a helpless gesture. "Without that drive we can't get there, which means we have to go back and get it."

"That… complicates things," Elsa said.

"Hmm, maybe not. I mean… it's the last place they'd expect us to be, right? They're out combing the city for us in force, but that place had to have been searched top to bottom by now. If we could slip in right under their noses…"

"Then we can retrieve the drive undetected," Elsa finished. "But it would be incredibly risky. You would do that for me?"

"I said I'd help you so I'm gonna help you," Anna said firmly. "Whatever it takes, we'll get your memories back. I… I promise."

"Thank you," Elsa said sincerely.

"Don't than-" Anna stopped herself and sighed. "It's the least I can do. Now, I say we should wait out here for a couple hours until dark, then make our way back. In the meantime, maybe we can scrounge around and find something to eat."

"Agreed," Elsa smiled.

And once again, she felt hope swell in her heart.

… … …

As luck would have it, the derelict building that they were taking shelter in had once been a food processing factory before it was abandoned, specializing in assortments of preserved foodstuffs. In their searching, Elsa and Anna were able to turn up some packets of soy protein chow-mix. After they finished eating, Elsa and Anna sat close by each other, with a small distance separating the two. In the advancing chill, they started a fire in a barrel filled with trash and with nothing else to do but wait until nightfall, they passed the time by getting to know one another.

They both sat on the ground, simply staring into the fire.

"You know, I've seen plenty of androids," Anna murmured as she hugged her knees and kept her chin balanced between them. "Back in LA… and here as well. As a kid, I was afraid of them. They just always looked so… creepy, so inhuman," she glanced over to Elsa. "I still think that way, but with you… I sometimes forget. I've never seen anyone like you."

"Do I frighten you?" Elsa asked softly.

"No… no you don't. At least, not anymore," Anna shook her head. "To me, you're just… Elsa. I wouldn't call you an android because you don't look or act like one. No, I think you're something different. Something new."

Elsa didn't respond as she thought over what Anna had said. She took some comfort in the fact that Anna was no longer overtly hostile or cold towards her, not like when they first met. They were both growing, learning, and changing in ways that perhaps wasn't fully clear to either of them yet.

"Do you remember anything from when you were a kid?" Anna asked after a long pause, her eyes round, searching, and honest. "Do you have any memories from before?"

"I have memories, but… most of them aren't real, they're just implants," Elsa replied.

Anna loosened her arms from around her knees so that she could adjust to a cross-legged sitting position. "Tell me one?" she asked innocently.

Elsa read her body language as becoming more open and reciprocated in kind by turning to fully face Anna. "I feel a little strange sharing a childhood story considering I was never a child," she replied.

"Please?"

"Okay," Elsa nodded then thought for a long moment. "I have one about this toy that I had. It was a horse, carved from a piece of wood," she turned her head to face the fire. "All I remember was that a group of other kids were trying to take it from me, so I ran. They chased me through a factory a little bit like this one actually," she smiled thinly as she looked around and turned to face Anna once more. "I went looking for a place to hide and the only place was this empty furnace. It was cold and dark and… I remember being scared but this horse was all I had, so I went in anyway."

Anna nodded sympathetically and waited for Elsa to continue.

"I hid it away in a pile of ash and… later on, those kids found me," Elsa continued. "They beat me to make me tell them where it was, but I didn't say a word. One of them cut my hand and," she raised her left palm to show Anna the scar there. "That's how I got this. That's it," she shrugged. "Of course, that never happened and I know how I really got this scar. They just made me forget and gave me that memory instead."

Anna's features softened in understanding for she had seen exactly how Elsa had got that scar. "Mmm, I guess we're all just looking for something real," she murmured.

 _Something real,_ Elsa repeated in her mind. _I don't even know how much of my life is real._

She thought of everything that had happened to her up until now; her time at VanirCorp, her escape, her meeting with Anna. There were still times that she doubted the nature of her own existence but wherever Anna concerned, Elsa was assured that at least she was real. Anna was the realest thing she had ever encountered. A heavy silence settled over both of them as they each retreated into their own thoughts.

Once again, after a moment, Anna spoke up. "What about your real memories? I saw what you showed me back at the Memory Palace, but… is there anything else you can remember?"

"Mostly just flashes, here and there," Elsa replied. "Sometimes it's an image, or a feeling, or a sound… I can never hold onto them for long. But, there is… someone that I always see."

Anna stiffened a bit and shuffled just a bit closer to Elsa. "Who?" she asked quietly.

For a moment, Elsa feared that she already said too much and considered lying once more but then thought better of it. Anna had chosen to save her and she had chosen to help her so now, honesty was the least Elsa could do for the woman who was risking everything for her.

 _I can't lie to her, not anymore,_ Elsa thought. _She needs to know the truth and maybe that way… we can help each other._

Elsa closed her eyes and when she opened them again she fixed Anna with a look of complete openness. "I see you."

Anna blinked in shock for a moment. "M- me?" she stuttered. "A- are you sure? I mean… how? I- I don't… we've never met before, h- how can… how?"

"I don't know for sure," Elsa said. "It's just a feeling I have, I can't really explain it. I just… knew you once."

"Well, what do you see? M- maybe you've got the wrong person, maybe-"

"I know you but sometimes I don't always recognize you. I can't always see your face but I do see your hair," Elsa said. "And there's no mistaking it, not after how many times I've seen it in my dreams."

Elsa saw it, that was true, but more than anything else she longed to feel it in her hands. To feel something real and tangible, something that could ground her in reality, something to tether her to Earth, and something to provide a direct connection to her identity. She imagined it enough times, how silken and soft and smooth Anna's hair must be. Sometimes, Elsa would look in her mirror and run a hand through her own hair, imagining that it was cherry red instead of stark white.

"No, nonono," Anna shook her in disbelief as she pushed herself to her feet and began pacing back and forth rapidly. "No. No! It… it doesn't make any sense, how could you have known me? I don't even remember meeting you before, so how could… no, t- this is… this… I mean this is crazy!"

"I'm sorry," Elsa apologized for how much distress she was putting Anna under. "I don't mean to make things difficult."

Anna's head snapped over to Elsa as she stopped pacing. She then went over and knelt down in front of her so that they were at eye level.

"No, it's not your fault," Anna said, though it was clear her mind was still reeling. "I- I… I just… I'm trying to wrap my head around this whole thing and the more I think about it, the less it makes sense, and the less it makes sense, the more it scares me, and the more it scares me, the more I start to spiral, and I'm spiraling right now, because I'm rambling on and on and-"

"Anna," Elsa reached out and gently took a hold of both of her hands, bringing her back down to Earth with her soft touch. "It's okay."

"I- it is?" Anna said, breathing heavily.

"Yes, if this is becoming too much for you, I'd understand if you-"

"What? No, there's no way I'm turning my back on you, not now," Anna said firmly. "We have to get to the bottom of this now. Besides, we've got a bounty on our heads, we need to stick together now, more than ever before. Right?"

Elsa smiled as she felt warmth fill her heart now that Anna had erased any further doubts in her mind about their partnership. As much as the truth of who she once was scared her, Elsa was more scared of losing Anna. In the short time they had known each other, she had become quite fond of her. She wasn't quite sure how to describe how she felt about Anna, but the two things she felt the most were light and hope.

"Right," Elsa nodded then looked down.

She was almost tempted to reach up and touch Anna's hair but then contented herself with feeling the soft touch of her skin instead.

Anna tracked her gaze and then realized that they were still holding hands while they had been staring into each other's eyes. Rather than tear them away, which a part of Elsa had expected her to do, Anna did something else that warmed Elsa's heart. Anna's face was scrunched up in thought, lost somewhere in her mind as she ran slow circles with her thumbs over the pale flesh of Elsa's hands. Elsa certainly didn't mind the contact, which sent tiny pinpricks of electricity along her nerves, up her fingers and her arms where they settled in the gray matter of her brain and in her heart.

Elsa hummed in contentment, which finally brought Anna back to reality.

"Uh… it's, err, dark out," Anna chuckled nervously as she gently let go of Elsa's hands. "W- we should get moving."

"Oh," Elsa withdrew her hands into her lap, missing the contact already. "Yes, good idea."

As Anna donned her long-coat, Elsa noticed that her cheeks were a bit more flushed than usual, which she thought to be caused by the heat of the fire. She thought nothing more of it and with that, the pair set out into the city under the cover of darkness.


	19. Nighthawks

* * *

_How in the hell does she know me?_ Anna thought as she went over her and Elsa's last conversation in her head. _I mean, the only way that could be is if… no, there's no proof of that yet. You're grasping at straws Anna._

Tried as she might to wrap her head around the whole thing, Anna just couldn't find any logical answers as to how Elsa might have known her in her previous life. She couldn't recall ever meeting a girl with white hair, but then again it was entirely possible that Anna could have simply forgotten about her given how often she turned to drink to drown her sorrows. If that were the case, then it did little to set her mind at ease because while it was a slim chance, it was equally possible that Elsa could have been indeed Nora, which was a far more frightening scenario.

_Even if that's who she was, there's no way she'd be the same person,_ Anna continued. _She died, every part of who she was died with her. Elsa isn't the same person, she just… can't be._

There were still too many unknown variables at play and it was still far too early to reach a conclusion based on what they had uncovered so far. Until then, Anna would hold off on her judgment of Elsa, though even she couldn't deny that she was gradually warming up to her.

"Ah crap," Anna said as she peered around a corner into a busy street. "More cops."

Just ahead, a group of police officers manned a checkpoint at a busy intersection, holding up wanted posters and asking any civilians who passed by if they had seen Elsa or Anna. To avoid the checkpoint, Anna turned around and led Elsa towards a narrow side street off to the side.

Once they circumvented the police checkpoint, they came upon a squad of androids questioning a group of civilians, forcing Anna to duck back out of sight. She pressed herself tight against the wall, at the same time holding out her arm in a cautionary gesture as she gently pushed Elsa back along with her.

"Trouble?" Elsa whispered.

"Yeah," Anna replied as she peered around the corner. "Let's wait here until they move on."

"I can understand why VanirCorp wants me back, but the bounty states that they want both of us captured. What could they possibly want with you?"

"Well, if I had to guess, maybe they think I'm kidnapping you and holding you for ransom or something."

"Hmm. How much did they offer you for me?"

"Elsa... t- that's not- I'd give it back if it meant-"

"I'm only curious as to how much Miss Rosenthal valued my life."

"Oh, well in that case, three-and-a-half million."

"Hmm. What do you plan to do with it?"

"I don't know," Anna sighed. "Haven't really thought that far ahead yet, let's just worry about yo- oh shit, get back!"

The androids questioning the civilians had wrapped up their business and began making their way down the street towards Anna and Elsa's position, unaware of their presence. Anna pulled Elsa down so that they were crouching behind some barrels where they waited until the squad of androids passed them by.

"That was close," Anna muttered once they had passed beyond earshot and out of sight. "No way we can stay out in the open like this, someone is bound to recognize us sooner or later."

"Where can we go?" Elsa asked. "Surely, there must be somewhere in this city that isn't highly policed."

Anna scrunched up her face in thought as she scratched her head until an idea came to her. "Huh… there is one place that I know of," she said. "The red light district is pretty unregulated. It's run by a gang and not even the police have any jurisdiction there."

"Red light district," Elsa said as she considered her proposal. "What about other androids?"

"Well… let's just say the andys that work there already have their hands full," Anna said carefully, alluding to the fact that some androids served as sex workers. "In more ways than one, heh," she chuckled at her own joke.

"And we can get back to the Memory Palace from there?"

"We'll be taking the scenic route, but yeah, it should be safer that way."

The red light district of New York had been established in what used to be the neighborhood known as Hell's Kitchen. Compared to the rest of the city, the red light district was notorious for serving as a hotbed for illicit activity and black market trade, in addition to the legalized prostitution and brothels that were established there. There, one could find anything and anyone that catered to their tastes. In 2099, there was no shortage of creativity or imagination with which people carried out their carnal desires. Men, women, and everything else in between of all shapes, sizes, and forms were on offer in addition to androids that provided their services.

Anna herself had paid several visits to the red light district on nights when she was particularly drunk and feeling lonely. She wasn't ashamed of it, but it wasn't something she felt the need to freely discuss either. However, given their current predicament, it was their safest route back to the Memory Palace although Anna could already anticipate the uncomfortable questions that Elsa was sure to ask.

"Then let us get underway," Elsa said with a small assured smile.

With no further delay, Anna and Elsa diverted away from the main street they were at towards a public transitway station, where they boarded a mag-rail train bound for the red light district. Since many of the extensive subway tunnels had become flooded, abandoned, or repurposed as part of underground farming operations, the mag-rail trains became the new standard mode of public transportation. In nearly all ways they were a step up from the antiquated subway systems; running faster and more efficiently, though cleanliness still remained an issue.

Anna walked down the length of the train, shuffling past other civilians while Elsa followed close behind. She stepped over an old bloodstain then settled into an empty seat at the far end of the train, where she could keep an eye on everything in front of her without having to worry about watching her back. Once she sat down, she glanced around carefully before loosening her collar from her face.

On the other hand, Elsa was standing a bit awkwardly just off to her side, gazing up and down the length of the train as she surveyed their surroundings. She noticed that Anna had uncovered her face, then did the same after she readjusted her scarf.

_Good lord, she's like an alien,_ Anna thought to herself with a small, amused grin that spread across her face. _Kind of sweet, really…_

"You wanna sit down?" Anna asked as she gestured to the empty seat next to her.

"Oh," Elsa looked a little surprised then smiled gratefully. "Yes, thank you," she said as she sat down by Anna's side.

"What do you think of the train?" Anna asked, making idle conversation.

Elsa looked at her boots where she had stepped in something sticky and frowned. "It's… not very clean," she said shyly.

"That it isn't," Anna chuckled. "Sure as hell beats walking though, but… just don't touch anything with your hands," she said as she turned her gaze out the window and observed the nighttime lights of the city pass by in a blur. "If you think it's dirty now, just wait until we get to the red light district. That place is about as seedy and filthy as they come… still, it's got its charms."

"What is the red light district?"

"It's, ah, how to put this delicately?" Anna muttered to herself. "It's a place where people can go to pay other people to have sex with them."

"Oh."

"Do you… know what sex is?"

"I do."

"Oh, well that saves me from a weird conversation, heh, wait- how do you know?"

"Anatomy lessons at VanirCorp as well as some more… colorful descriptions in some books I've read."

"Right. So… y- you… where am I going with this?" Anna said, suddenly very curious as to how much Elsa already knew of sexual intercourse. "So you're like 99% organic. You have all the same parts as a woman, right?"

Elsa nodded. "Yes."

"So can you," Anna made a vague gesture with her hands. "You know, do it?"

"Do what?"

"Have sex."

"I suppose I could if I wanted to. I experience sexual attraction and urges the same as I experience any other physical or emotional stimulus."

"Huh," Anna leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. "No kidding."

_I wonder what she thinks about me,_ an impulsive voice spoke in Anna's mind.

_What? Don't be ridiculous,_ another replied, acting as the voice of reason.

"Have… you?" Elsa asked hesitantly.

"Eeeeeh," Anna shrugged. "Every now and again."

"Have you ever visited the red light district?"

Anna considered whether or not she should tell Elsa for a moment, then decided she didn't want to lie or continue withholding the truth from her any longer. "Once or twice," she admitted.

Normally she wasn't embarrassed about bringing it up, but something about discussing it with Elsa gave her some pause. Perhaps it was because of how innocent she was, that is to say, relatively innocent. After all, within hours of meeting each other Anna and Elsa had already murdered quite a few scavvers who attacked them. Even so, the bright-eyed and hopeful way with which Elsa interacted with the world around her warmed Anna's heart. She recalled the first night when they had met, when she silently observed Elsa as she stuck her arms out to feel the rain against her skin.

Small moments like those always made Elsa seem more human and now that Anna learned that she felt the same biological urges like any other organic being, it further reinforced that notion in her mind. The longer that Anna spent with Elsa, the more she felt that the white-haired woman was actually learning, growing, and changing. Anna herself had already been going through similar changes, for just a few days ago she would have been happy to be rid of Elsa, but now, she found herself risking her life just to help her in her mission to discover who she once was.

Not that she was acting completely selflessly, for Anna now had a personal stake in this matter as well. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed entirely possible that Nora had been Elsa's donor. She tried to deny or ignore the signs at first, but the more Elsa learned about herself and the more Anna learned about her in turn, the less it began to seem like an incredible coincidence. It frightened her deeply, for she was still conflicted about her feelings towards Elsa and moreover she was terrified of the possibility that she could be Nora, just in a different form which in itself held deeply problematic implications. Still, Anna wasn't one to ever leap to conclusions and now, she desired to learn the truth as much as Elsa did. Until then, Anna would hold onto her reservations, consider each of the facts they learned, and compile the evidence until she could make a final decision.

After all, she was a detective and a good one at that.

Anna noticed in her reflection that Elsa had turned her head forward. Risking a glance over her shoulder, she was oddly amused to find that Elsa's cheeks had also been colored with embarrassment. Their discussion had apparently caused an emotional response in her as well, which was endearing to see.

She studied Elsa's appearance more closely, taking note of the way her outfit hugged her curves or the way her porcelain skin and white hair seemed to glow. Indeed, Elsa had been designed to be the perfect being and her appearance was nearly transcendentally beautiful. Anna swallowed thickly as heat began to rise to her face, but more disconcertingly it also began to pool between her thighs. There was no denying it; Anna was profoundly attracted to Elsa.

_Calm down Anna, take some deep breaths,_ the voice of reason spoke in Anna's mind.

_I'm trying, but it's hard when she's stupidly sexy,_ the impulsive voice replied.

_You can't get involved with her, you don't even know who she is yet. She could-_

_Yeah, you don't think I know that? But I'm not blind, she's right there in front of me!_

_Let me finish. She could be her. What then?_

_We don't know that yet… and besides. There's nothing wrong with just looking._

_I hope you know what you're doing._

"Now arriving, Hell's Kitchen," an automated voice spoke out over an intercom, shocking Anna out of her inner dialogue.

"I believe we're here," Elsa said.

"Oh!" Anna stiffened in her seat and gazed around before locking eyes with Elsa. "Uh, what were we doing again? Oh! That's right, come on, let's go," she said as she rose from her seat and exited the train with Elsa in tow.

"Are you alright?" Elsa asked as they stepped off the train onto the platform.

"Mmhm," Anna gave a thumbs up. "It's just… cold, y'know?"

Together, the pair walked away from the transitway station and down a flight of stairs towards the streets. They passed through a creaky old turnstile and stepped out into the night air of the red light district.

A light drizzle of rain was falling from the sky, though it had no affect on foot traffic as the district seemed to be as densely populated as ever. It ended up working in Anna and Elsa's favor by providing additional concealment in the thick crowds. At first glance, the red light district appeared innocuous enough. Various cafes and restaurants lined the streets while all around, loud but muffled music blared out from underground clubs and bars. Gradually, the establishments became far more specialized the further in, geared towards the main attractions which drew business into the red light district.

There, prostitutes freely roamed the streets or enticed passerby into the brothels they operated from. All throughout the district were numerous strip clubs as well as bars and other establishments that offered endless varieties that catered to every imaginable desire. The red light district attracted all sorts of visitors; from lowly scavvers, to street gangers, to executive corpos, to everyday folk just looking to pass some time with some company. It was a rare place in New York where one could go without fear of judgement and where everyone was treated equally. Nonetheless, even the red light district had strict rules that had to be followed and anyone who broke them - regardless of their position in society - were violently dealt with by the main gang that ran the whole thing; the Verenkov crime family.

Of all the gangs in New York city, the Verenkovs were the largest and the most powerful. They were an offshoot crime syndicate that had emerged after much of the Russian mafia was eradicated and ever since, their leader - Svetlana - has been trying to recapture a stranglehold on power. They mainly specialized in racketeering activities, those of which included running gambling rings, black markets, or money laundering. Though their main base of operations was situated in the red light district, their territory encompassed multiple neighborhoods and other districts throughout New York City.

Their only real competition came from the second largest gang in the city; the demons. Each of their members sported exotic and extensive bodily modification through cyberware, more so than the average citizen. The demons were led by Mauler, who had been the very same person that Anna had observed taking part of an arms deal with Hans, the other ArmaRex manager she had been hired to spy on. Gun running and drug trafficking were the demon's main trade, and while they weren't as widespread or influential as the Verenkovs, they had their own territories that they held onto with an iron grip throughout New York. In fact, the demons mainly operated out of the lower Manhattan flood zone as well as much of Brooklyn, though they did have a foothold and large presence in Greenwich Village as well.

There were many other gangs that existed in New York, ranging from many different ethnic backgrounds but many of them were small and in the process of being crowded out by either the Verenkovs or the demons. Competition for real estate was always stiff and many ambitious gang leaders often struggled to survive between the two largest organized crime groups. Such was the way of criminal life in New York, where the biggest and strongest ate first, leaving behind only scraps for the rest to pick over.

Anna confidently navigated her way through the winding streets towards the red light district, barely giving her surroundings a glance while Elsa examined the world around her with much more curiosity.

"Better stick close," Anna said when she noticed that Elsa had begun to stray. "Don't want to run into any trouble now, lots of people out here would love to take advantage of you."

"I've never seen anything like it," Elsa said as she pressed closer to Anna.

A woman with neon green hair dressed in a skin-tight leather catsuit was walking towards them, dragging a bullwhip over the ground behind her as she strutted and flaunted her curvaceous body. She caught a few interested glances from the crowds, one of which was Elsa's.

"Hello, hello gorgeous," the woman purred as she singled Elsa out and approached her, sashaying her hips side to side while her heels clacked over the pavement. "You look like a bad girl, you lookin for some company?" she asked as she trailed her fingers up Elsa's arm and caressed her cheek.

For the first time since meeting her, Anna saw that Elsa appeared truly flustered as she appeared to struggle between smiling politely and forming words to speak.

With a roll of her eyes, Anna stepped in between her and the prostitute. "She's not interested, sorry," she said firmly but politely.

The prostitute smirked and eyed Anna up and down, then she strode over to her and placed the handle of her bullwhip beneath her ear and dragged it along her jawline towards her chin.

"Aw, you sure?" the prostitute grinned sinfully while glancing between Anna and Elsa. "You and your friend look like you need to loosen up. The more the merrier, I got special rates for threesomes."

Gently, Anna pushed the bullwhip down as she gave a forced smile. "Not tonight, maybe next time," she said.

"Hmm" the prostitute chuckled then batted her eyelids. "Have it your way, sweetie."

She then turned around and left, bouncing her hips back and forth to highlight her ample bottom as she disappeared into the crowds to draw out another customer. Once she was out of sight, Anna turned back to check on Elsa, who still remained silent and looked a bit uncomfortable as she glanced around.

"You okay?" Anna asked.

"I'm alright," Elsa replied softly. "I've just…"

"Never seen anything like it."

"No, no I haven't. I'm sorry, I just feel out of place here."

Anna nodded in understanding. "So is everybody's first time, but you get used to it. Just need to keep your head on straight."

"Can we keep going?" Elsa asked a bit stiffly. "Please?"

She was clearly uncomfortable and Anna didn't want to put her under any more stress so she nodded quickly then took her by the elbow as she guided her through the district. As they travelled through, they were propositioned by a few more prostitutes who Anna quickly shut down. Eventually, they reached a wide street that was lined on one side by an outdoor eatery, and a brothel on the other. The establishment was a two storey building, the front of which was composed of slightly opaque frosted glass which was just clear enough to make out nondescript shapes of human bodies pressed together in acts of coitus.

Sweaty, sex covered hands, backs, torsos, and legs were splayed out in all angles pressed up against the glass and the building was more of the same the further in. Even from out on the street, Anna and Elsa could make out the rapturous sighs and moans of the patrons as they twisted and writhed and wrapped around each other.

"Oh my," Elsa murmured as she couldn't help but stare. "That can't be sanitary."

Anna chucked and actually burst out in a short fit of laughter at Elsa's comment, which surprised them both. Her laughter soon devolved into a spastic set of goofy giggles and it was then that Anna realized she couldn't remember the last time she had ever laughed like that. She glanced over to Elsa and noticed that she was wearing a familiar, dimpled grin over her face as she gazed back at Anna.

"Why are you laughing?" Elsa asked and a second later, that ghost of Nora's smile vanished leaving Anna unsure if she had even seen it at all.

"Oh," Anna paused and her smile faltered ever so slightly. "You were being serious?"

"I was."

"I thought you were joking, it was funny."

"I never joke," Elsa teased, summoning up memories of the first night they met when they shared a meal together.

That had been the first time that Anna noticed Elsa's nosebleeds, which seemed to occur whenever something familiar to both of their collective memories happened. Anna hadn't thought much of it at first, but each time it happened, she couldn't help but notice that it was often somehow related to Nora in some roundabout way. It was another point of evidence that was still far too inconclusive to act upon, but was still disconcerting nonetheless.

_Gotta remember to ask her about that later,_ Anna thought as she stored that tidbit of information away.

"Of course you don't," Anna said sarcastically. "If this whole thing doesn't work out you can always become a comedian."

"An android comedian? Surely such a thing exists already."

"Eh, their humor is kinda stiff and the delivery is a little robotic," Anna tried for humor, but then frowned to the side. "No, that was terrible."

Elsa smirked as she glanced around Anna. "Well, evidently not the only thing that's stiff around here."

Anna tracked Elsa's gaze to where she was looking then spotted a man decked out in full bondage gear as he made his way through the crowds. He wore all sorts of straps and harnesses and barely an inch of his skin wasn't covered by leather except for his fully erect one foot long member. The obscenely large fleshy mast had been modified with cyberware so that it was studded and was even adorned with racing stripes, which was to say the least way out of Anna's preferred tastes. Indeed, Anna never much preferred the company of men at all.

"Okay," Anna chuckled. "I think that's enough for one night, come on. Let's get out of here."

… … …

Shortly before midnight, Anna and Elsa were back to where they had started their day, standing some distance away from the Memory Palace as they observed it for any signs of trouble. In the time they had been gone, the three androids Anna destroyed had already been cleared away, leaving the site unremarkable as if nothing had ever happened there.

Anna's hunch had been correct and it appeared that VanirCorp didn't think the pair would return to the scene of the crime. Only two police officers had been left behind to stand watch, guarding the front entrance though they appeared not to be highly uninvested in their post. Both of them were smoking and chatting among themselves, paying little heed to passerby.

"That's odd," Elsa murmured as they observed the police officers from afar.

"Odd that I was right?" Anna asked. "There's cops here, just like I said."

"No, odd because there aren't more of them. Surely they would have left behind a more significant security detail in case we returned."

"Still might be more cops inside we don't know about and we can't risk walking in there to find out. Maybe we can contact K somehow, get him to bring it to us."

"They'll be monitoring his communications, no?'

"Hmm… you're right. So how are we supposed to get that drive?"

"We cause a distraction," Elsa suggested. "Something to draw away the police officers, giving us time to get in and retrieve the drive."

Anna nodded as she considered her proposal. "That could work. Only question is which one of us is going to get that drive?"

"I will," Elsa said simply.

"What? You're the one they want, are you sure?"

"Of course. I'm faster than you."

"Ouch, okay. Just gonna softball it in there like that, huh?"

"It was only a statement of fact."

"Well… shit, you're right," Anna sighed. "Alright, I guess I'll go and… cause a ruckus somewhere."

"What will you do?" Elsa asked, her brows furrowed in concentration.

Anna examined the cops and a terrible idea entered her mind. "Something stupid," she sighed, then turned to Elsa. "I'm gonna draw them away and lead them on a merry chase, which will give you the window you need. Then, I guess I'll just have to shake them off somehow."

"That's too dangerous, I can't let you-"

"It's fine. We need that drive and… well if I get shot then that's what I deserve for… you know…"

"Anna," Elsa's eyes were wide worry.

"Elsa," Anna replied. "Trust me, I do this sort of thing all the time."

"Do you?"

"Well, no but let me do this for you. I gotta start paying you back somehow, right?"

"There must be some other way."

"There's six million credits on our heads, there's no way they won't take that bait. Even if they just get me, that's still three million."

Elsa looked conflicted as she considered Anna's crazy plan until she reluctantly nodded. "Okay, are you ready?"

Anna nodded. "Uh huh. Let's get this show on the road. We should meet back here once we're done."

"Back here?"

"Yeah. It's the last place they'd think we'd be. Listen, just do me a favor. When you see K, tell him... tell him he was right."

"Alright," Elsa said. "And Anna?'

"Yeah?" Anna looked over to Elsa and saw that her eyes were full of concern.

"Be careful."

"You too."

With that, Anna walked away and took a few deep breaths. Behind her, Elsa dipped low into the shadows and hid herself from sight behind a dumpster. The cops ahead were still conversing among themselves, unaware of their presence nearby, though that would change soon.

Acting on her reckless impulse now before she lost the nerve, Anna went out of the alleyway and approached the cops. "Hey!" she whistled loudly as she waved over to the cops. "Looking for something, six million credits maybe?"

The police immediately aimed their weapons at Anna but before they could fire, she took off running down the street.

"Shit, that's her!"

"Get after her, I'll call it in! Go go!"

Behind her, Anna heard the police officers as they spoke into their dispatch, requesting backup and calling out her heading. Knowing that she had to lose them quickly, she took off running and turned down a narrow alleyway as the two police officers gave chase. Once there, she vaulted over a stack of barrels then knocked them over to obstruct the path behind her.

"Stop right now or we will fire on you!"

"We need her alive, take out her legs!"

Bullets started whizzing past Anna, smacking into the concrete and the walls around her as she continued to run. She risked a glance behind and saw that the police were now gaining on her. To break their line of sight, Anna made a hairpin turn down a sharp corner, sliding along and nearly colliding into a wall before she found her balance again and sprinted away.

The police behind weren't nearly as fleetfooted so they crashed into each other and cursed loudly. All around, more voices joined the clamor as police sirens blared out and more sounds of pursuit could be heard.

At the far end of the alley, Anna spotted a busy marketplace she could use to disappear when suddenly, she was tackled from the side by another police officer. As they both fell, Anna landed on her back but she recovered quickly enough in time to strike the officer across the face and crawl away.

"Get down, don't move!" the officer shouted as he reached for Anna's leg and started to drag her back.

Anna rolled over and kicked the officer twice; once in the chest and then again in his face. "Get off!" she shouted.

The officer fell back, giving Anna enough time to rise to her feet and start running once more. As she raced towards the marketplace, bullets were fired again in her direction which caused the crowds in front of her to cry out in panic. Sprinting with everything she had, Anna crossed the remaining distance to the marketplace then burst out into a wide square. There, she continued running as she pushed and shoved her way through the crowds.

The police chasing Anna temporarily lost sight, but more officers were converging on her location now and she knew she couldn't stay here for long. Suddenly, a police gunship swooped in from above and shone a spotlight onto the crowds below which began to disperse. Using the chaos and confusion to her advantage, Anna pushed through until she reached the far end of the marketplace.

"There! The red-head!"

"Get out of the way! Get out of the fucking way!"

Gunshots rang out as police officers fired their weapons into the air to further break up the crowds.

Anna looked over her shoulder again and spotted another officer as he closed the distance on her. Acting quickly, she reached into a nearby vendor's stall and picked up a metal frying pan. Then, with the same movement, she spun on her heels and struck the officer over the head, knocking him to the ground. She then dropped the pan and resumed running until she spotted a more narrow street.

A few Verenkov gangers had emerged, investigating the commotion and Anna ran right towards them. As she blew past into their territory, bullets flew over their heads as the police opened fire once more.

"Woah, woah! Who the fuck!"

"What the hell is she doing?"

It was then that they realized that the police were currently bearing down on their location. The Verenkovs reached for their weapons and not knowing who to shoot at, they chose the cops and returned fire.

"Fucking pigs! You're on our turf!"

"Waste 'em!"

A gunfight between the Verenkovs and the police exploded out behind Anna, which proved to be just the thing she needed to get the cops off her back. Busy as they were in the sudden warzone they found themselves in, the police stopped chasing Anna as they sought cover and shouted orders to each other. Meanwhile, more Verenkovs poured out from nearly every direction and soon, the entire block became a scene of chaos and confusion.

Anna stayed a moment longer, peering out from behind a wall as she caught her breath. Once she was sure that nobody was paying her any further mind, she disappeared into the city as she made her way back to the Memory Palace.


	20. Aporia

* * *

"This is patrol unit M-12, we've spotted the suspect. We're in pursuit."

Elsa watched on as the two police officers standing guard outside the doors to the Memory Palace shouted in alarm as they gave chase to Anna. She waited until they were out of sight, then just as she was about to creep out from her hiding place, two more officers burst out the doors and headed off in a different direction. From somewhere close by, Elsa could hear gunfire as the police chased Anna.

As crazy and reckless as Anna's plan had been, it certainly worked in drawing the police away. With the palace now unguarded, Elsa crept out from her hiding place in the alley and quickly crossed the open ground towards the front entrance. Once she was inside, she passed by the reception desk which was now empty and made her towards the theatre, being cautious of her surroundings in case any other police officers or androids from VanirCorp remained behind. She entered the theatre to find it empty and silent, which relieved Elsa as she quickened her pace towards the stage.

As Elsa entered the backstage area where K's clinic was, she could hear someone breathing heavily as they struggled against something. Rounding the corner, she found K, tied to a chair with his face beaten and bruised as he attempted to free himself from his restraints.

"K?" Elsa asked.

The tech-doctor whipped his head up in shock. "Elsa? Jesus, the whole city is looking for you!"

"I know," Elsa replied as she went over K to untie him from his restraints. "What did they do to you?"

"Eh, this is nothing I can't fix," K shrugged then rubbed his wrists once his arms came free. "They sweated me a couple times, wanted to see if you told me anything but I didn't say anything to them," he said, then peered up at Elsa. "What about you? How did you escape?"

"I didn't. Anna saved me."

K nodded approvingly and smiled. "Glad she finally came to her senses," he chuckled wryly to himself. "But where is she now? Is she okay?

"She's on her way, she caused the distraction that drew away the police."

"Heh, she always did know how to raise hell when it suited her. So then, what are you doing back here?"

"We need your help, do you still have that drive I gave you?"

"Sure do, I hid it away as soon as the cops came knocking," K rose from his chair then went over a section of wall and banged on an unremarkable panel which came loose, revealing a hidden compartment. "Here it is," he handed it to Elsa. "What do you plan to do with it?"

Elsa took the drive and reached up to tuck it safely in the lining of her bodysuit. "That information you uncovered about the research facility where I was made, Gjallarbrú, we think we can learn more about who I was if we can get there."

"We?" K's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Anna's really helping you?"

"She is," Elsa said and she couldn't suppress the small smile that spread across her face.

"You must be something really special to her then," K said then went over to a chilled medical supply storage unit and started rooting around until he retrieved two injectors filled with a dark green fluid. "Well, look, if you're heading out beyond the city, you better take these. It's a toxic wasteland out there," he said as he handed them to Elsa.

Elsa smiled a bit more confidently at K's initial comment, then turned her attention to the items in K's hand. "What are these?"

"Booster shots to temporarily slow down your rate of rad absorption. You'll need it if you want to make it to Gjallarbrú," K said, then straightened up and snapped his fingers as he went towards some shelves on the opposite side of the room. "Oh! And one more thing. Take this," he said as he retrieved an older model of an omni-pad and handed it to Elsa. "One of the earlier generations when wearable tech was still the newest thing. It's a little beat up, but should work fine and it'll accept that drive so you can access the data on the move. It's also waterproof too."

Elsa nodded then held out her left forearm as K strapped the device on it. The earliest iterations of the omni-pad were sort of like a glove or a bracer that the user wore. While it lacked the holographic interface that the later generations would sport, it still had many of the same features including long distance face-to-face communications, map and GPS navigation, as well as data storage and processing. The omni-pad was essentially a portable computer and in every respect was vastly superior to the smartphones of the early 21st century, eventually replacing them altogether.

"Thank you, K, for everything," Elsa said as she tucked the injectors safely away in her pocket then flexed her forearm as she examined her new gear. "I wish that there was something I could do for you."

"It's nothing, don't worry about it," K waved his hand dismissively. "Now go on, get outta here. Quick, before those cops come back."

"Will you be alright?"

"I'll be fine, really, but you need to get a move on."

"Thank you," Elsa repeated, then turned around and started for the exit when she suddenly remembered something. "K? One more thing," she said as she spun around.

"Uh huh?"

"Anna asked me to tell you that… you were right."

K smirked, then crossed his arms. "Hmph, of course I was. Now go on and good luck, alright?"

Elsa nodded a final time to K, then without further delay she departed from the Memory Palace. As she stepped out into the cool night air, she turned her head towards the sound of nearby gunfire and shouting. Apparently whatever riot Anna started had devolved into a full scale gunfight between the police and a group of gangers. She didn't linger for long and crept her way back towards her rendezvous point with Anna, where she found her bent over and panting heavily.

"Anna!" Elsa exclaimed in relief. "You're alright."

"Yep," Anna panted as she gave Elsa a thumbs up and grinned. "Never better."

"What did you do? It sounds like there's a riot going on."

"If you're referring to that little gunfight down the block, I had nothing to do with that. I was just… passing through when some gangers had an issue with the police, that's all. What about you, did you get what you need?"

"I did," Elsa nodded. "I got the drive and K also provided me with a few other things."

"Is he alright?" Anna asked, and Elsa couldn't help but notice the edge of concern in her voice.

"He is. The police interrogated him, but he assured me that he didn't reveal any information to them."

Anna nodded. "Good, that's good," she murmured. "So, what things did he give you?"

"This, for one," Elsa raised her left forearm and showed Anna the vintage omni-pad she had received. "As well as some booster shots to bolster our immune systems to make it to Gjallarbrú."

"Ugh," Anna scowled. "Always hated needles."

"Me too," Elsa smiled. "What are we going to do now?"

"We should get off the streets, this place is already hot enough as it is," Anna said as she glanced around.

"Where can we go?"

"My apartment," Anna replied. "There's a few things I need to grab before we head out."

Elsa frowned. "Is it safe? They must have it under surveillance by now."

"I doubt it. They're looking for a Veronica Tyrell right now, whereas my apartment is listed under one Rachael Deckard," Anna explained as she started walking. "I obviously wouldn't use my real name for where I live. It's the safest place in the city for us right now."

"Okay," Elsa nodded. "I trust you."

Anna stiffened and faltered in her steps for a moment as she made a strange sort of choked squawk in her throat. "W- we should hurry, "she swallowed thickly and cleared her throat, then continued forward. "Let's cover up," she added as she pulled up her collar around her face.

"Following you," Elsa said as she did the same with her scarf.

… … …

From the Memory Palace, Anna's apartment wasn't far and lay within walking distance, though the trip took significantly longer than it normally would have as they took different routes to evade patrols and avoid detection. The whole situation between the Verenkovs and the police had devolved into a tense standoff, and neither side knew exactly why they were fighting each other.

It was in the small hours of the morning now and most of the streets were largely empty due to the chaos unfolding just a few blocks away. For the most part, Elsa and Anna were entirely alone as they walked through the city of lights. They passed under an eve to seek some temporary reprieve from the rain, where some holographic women patrolled the empty streets, occasionally flickering in and out of existence as they stuttered along.

"What are those?" Elsa asked as one caught her eye.

It was a nude woman with blue hair whose entire body was composed of formless light. She stepped down from a display set high in the wall and went directly up to Elsa, standing in front of her as if she were tangible and real.

"Targeted ads," Anna replied as she observed Elsa interact with the holographic woman in front of her.

The hologram giggled and waved her fingers daintily. "You look a bit lost."

Elsa tentatively returned the wave. "Is she real?"

"I'm as real as you want me to be," the hologram winked.

"No, they're not," Anna said as she stepped up beside the hologram and waved her hand through, disrupting some of the illusion in front of her. "See? Just light, and… programming. Numbers and codes, that sort of thing."

"Oh," Elsa murmured, feeling strangely sad for the hologram.

Anna emphasized her point by stepping directly over where the hologram was standing, forming a strange melding of flesh and light as Anna and the other woman moved independently of each other. Anna looked down at herself, inspecting the bizarre union while the hologram laughed serenely and stretched her arms over her head, revealing more of her effervescent form.

Elsa was stunned by the sight, both by the way the hologram continued to move and shift weightlessly yet with lifelike precision, and the way it accentuated Anna's natural features. The holographic woman glowed with pale, blue light, which mixed with and highlighted Anna's crimson locks. Anna's face was lit up by the dim lighting and Elsa noticed for the first time just how soft Anna's skin appeared to be.

 _She's beautiful,_ Elsa thought, looking only at Anna.

The hologram then flickered out of existence, leaving only a real woman standing in front of Elsa. In that moment, Elsa recalled Anna's earlier words.

_I guess we're all just looking for something real._

Shortly after she had said that, Elsa had reached out and touched Anna's hands with her own. She remembered how warm they felt, how soft her skin was, how they seemed to pulse and throb with the life and energy that flowed through her body. More than that, Elsa recalled the way Anna didn't reject her touch and relished in the moment when she even ran slow circles over her own skin. Elsa smiled at the memory and then felt a desire to reach out and touch Anna then and there, to affirm that she was really there and not just a trick of the light. Elsa raised her hand and slowly extended it outwards, nearly reaching Anna before she suddenly shook herself off.

"Ooh, that felt kind of weird," Anna muttered. "Kinda warm and… tingly, somehow."

Elsa quickly withdrew her hand and instead clasped it over her chest, turning her head down and to the side as she felt embarrassed for herself. Anna either didn't seem to notice or pretended not to notice and merely stared off at something else in the distance. A comfortable silence settled over them, as each of them became lost in their thoughts as they stood in front of each other in the rain.

After a moment, Anna snapped out of her daze and gave Elsa a thin smile. "Are you gonna stand here all night staring at that pretty woman? I mean, she was very pretty."

"I'd rather stare at you," Elsa immediately replied without thinking.

Her mind was still elsewhere, thinking of Anna's hair, her soft skin, and at the moment, the glow of her eyes.

"Uh, heh," Anna chuckled nervously. "E- Elsa did you, er, did you… mean to flirt with me just now?"

"Flirt?" Elsa cocked her head.

"Y- yeah, you just… said you would rather stare at me, it just… sounded, I mean… maybe you meant something else?"

"No," Elsa shook her head. "You are very beautiful."

"See, you just did it again!"

"Did what again?"

"Flirted with me! Are you doing this on purpose?"

"I'm sorry, Anna, I still don't know what you mean. It was a statement of fact, I think you are very beautiful."

"Statement of fact… okay, heh," Anna turned away from Elsa. "So you clearly don't know what flirting is, that's okay… it's actually kind of sweet. I mean, it's not like I don't have eyes. I think you're super gorgeous too, but that's… besides the point," she muttered out loud, more likely speaking to herself than Elsa at that moment. "Now I'm going on and on, and I don't even know what we were talking about anymore," she suddenly stopped and turned to face Elsa. "Y- you know what? We should, um, we should stay focused, you know?"

"I didn't mean to offend you," Elsa said as she dipped her head.

Anna rushed forward and grabbed Elsa by the upper part of her arms in a gesture that showed she hadn't taken any offense. "No, no! You didn't offend me, really. It's just… you're so sweet and innocent and thoughtful and you say what you mean, which is really rare for people and I think it's nice but at the same time you're really badass and you make me feel things," she stopped herself then shook her head. "I'm rambling again, we should… wow," she muttered when she realized she was still holding Elsa's arms. "Y- you're really, just… _wow_ ," she chuckled as she began to slowly run her hands up and down, feeling Elsa's muscles.

"Anna," Elsa started. "Are you feeling alright?"

Elsa kept a lid on her emotions for she was elated that Anna had initiated contact with her this time. Something about her demeanor when she was flustered and rambling was exceedingly endearing to Elsa and she felt nothing but pure joy in listening to her disjointed thoughts as they tumbled out. Despite the rain and the chill, Elsa felt warmth and happiness, something she had never felt before in her entire existence.

"Hmm?" Anna looked up and blinked several times as if in a daze. "Oh… oh!" she released Elsa and stepped back quickly. "Uh, yes! I'm fine. W- we've wasted too much time here, we should really get going."

"Okay," Elsa smiled. "Following you."

The rest of the short way, Anna didn't speak a word to Elsa and every time they made fleeting eye contact, she would quickly turn away as she became suddenly very interested in her surroundings. It gave Elsa some pause and she worried that she might have offended Anna for she truly was just giving her honest opinion.

 _I was just saying how I felt,_ Elsa frowned to herself as she thought it over. _Anna is exceptionally attractive, I thought humans enjoyed compliments._

She resolved to push the matter aside for now but hoped to discuss it more in depth with Anna later if she was feeling receptive to it. For now, Elsa tried to placate Anna by giving her a small bashful smile every time she glanced in her direction, yet it only appeared to frustrate her further as her cheeks turned as red as her hair.

Anna pushed through the doors to the entrance lobby of the apartment building and swiped her hand over the biometric lock that separated the doors from the elevators. Once it opened, Anna pushed the door open and passed through, hurried along by some unforeseen force that seemed to press her. Elsa didn't think much of it as she joined her by the elevator doors. Anna reached forward and pressed the up button then stood back.

After about a minute, she leaned forward again and started repeatedly mashing the button more irritably until it reached their floor and the doors dinged open to reveal an empty elevator.

"Finally," Anna sighed and stepped through. "Stupid piece of shit elevators never work properly," she grumbled.

Elsa entered after Anna and stood just by her side as she punched in her floor number. The doors groaned as they slid shut and moments later, they were carried upwards. Occasionally, the elevator would lurch and grind and stall for a second before continuing up. Once they reached Anna's floor, the doors slid part way open before grinding to a halt, forcing her to wrench them open as she muttered more expletives under her breath. Elsa was just about to assist when Anna managed to open the doors by placing her back against one with her foot against the other as she pushed.

"There," Anna breathed heavily, then gestured for Elsa to walk through. "Piece of cake… after you."

"What cake?" Elsa asked innocently. "I see no cake," she walked out of the elevator and looked around in curiosity.

Anna followed after her and paused, taping her chin in thought. "N- no, not like a real cake... it's a... what do you call them," she snapped her fingers when she found the answer. "It's an idiom. Yeah. Look, do you know what an idiom is?"

"Colloquial metaphor."

"No it- well, okay, actually yes it is. You get it then, it's just another saying. It means that something is easy."

"Hmm," Elsa shrugged. "I know what they are, I just haven't really heard them in use, I suppose."

Anna chuckled and gestured down the hallway. "Huh, okay then. Come on, it's this way."

Elsa walked alongside Anna as they made their way towards her apartment. Along the way, Elsa spotted several stains on the dirty floor and walls, some of which appeared to be blood or other unidentifiable bodily fluids. There was trash strewn about, the lights flickered here and there, and muffled shouting could be heard behind different apartment doors. After a short trip, Anna paused in front of her door and swiped her hand over another biometric lock.

"Here we are," Anna said as she pushed the door open and stepped through. "Home sweet home."

Elsa followed her in, then once she was clear of the threshold, Anna kicked the door closed, letting it slam shut behind them. She then shook off her boots and immediately went over to her kitchen where she opened a cupboard and retrieved a bottle of whiskey. As she took a long swig, Elsa quietly removed her own boots and set them neatly aside before taking a few tentative steps further into Anna's home.

"Is that what you wanted to come back here for?" Elsa asked as she peered around and examined her surroundings, soaking in all the details and lived-in presence of Anna's home.

Anna held up a finger as she continued to drink, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand once she was done. "What, this? No this is just a… little refresher," she held out the bottle as an offering to Elsa. "Care for a nip?"

"No, thank you," Elsa politely declined.

"Suit yourself," Anna shrugged then took another long sip before setting the bottle down. "Alright, I figure that we'll be safe here for the time being and since we aren't going anywhere while the city is locked down, we might as well flake out here until things die down a bit. At least until the morning," she said as she removed her long-coat and tossed it over her couch.

"Reasonable," Elsa nodded in agreement. "What will we do in the meantime?"

"In the meantime, I'm gonna catch some sleep," Anna said as she went over to her bedroom, then paused and turned back to face Elsa. "Err, make yourself at home, I guess. What's mine is yours, _mi casa su casa,_ and all that."

Elsa brightened up at Anna's usage of another language. "I didn't know you spoke Spanish."

"What? No… I don't," Anna rubbed her eyes wearily. "Th- that's just a saying, I mean it is Spanish, but that's as much Spanish as I know."

"Oh," Elsa deflated somewhat.

"Right, well the, uh, the couch is right there, if you want to sleep," Anna pointed towards the couch then over to another door that stood next to the entrance to her office. "There's another bathroom there, if you need to use it. Fridge has got some food and probably something to drink that isn't alcohol, if you're hungry and uh," she yawned loudly and stretched her arms over her head in her doorframe. "Yeah… I'll see you in the morning, I guess," she mumbled as she turned around and began to close her door.

Anna was clearly falling asleep in place, swaying this way and that as she spoke to Elsa. Rather than keep her up any longer, Elsa decided to let her rest and once morning came, they would resume their journey.

"Goodnight, Anna," Elsa smiled.

"Hmm?" Anna murmured, then peeked out from the edge of her door. "Oh, uh, goodnight… Elsa."

With that, she retreated back into her bedroom and shut the door with a soft click, leaving Elsa standing alone in the silence of Anna's apartment. She wasn't feeling particularly tired nor hungry yet, so she decided to spend her time in the small hours of the morning exploring Anna's home.

Adjacent to Anna's bedroom was her office, which Elsa respectfully stayed out of, though she did peek in. The furnishings inside were bare. There was only a desk with a tall rolling chair behind it while scattered randomly about were empty bottles of alcohol. Between Anna's office and her bedroom was a living room, furnished with a couch and a few dusty shelves that held nothing of interest. Elsa searched for any pictures that could provide further insight and context into Anna's life, but found none. More disquieting was the fact that Anna didn't seem to own any pictures of Nora either.

The sound of a running shower caught Elsa's attention and she turned her head over to the direction of Anna's bedroom. She listened for a short while, then continued her self-guided tour of Anna's apartment as she explored her kitchen. It was a tight and narrow space, containing a fridge, stove and a sink and a few cupboards but not much else. Across the kitchen, on the other side of the entry foyer, was another door that held a simple washer and dryer machine.

It certainly wasn't as awful as many other apartments in New York City and in fact, Anna lived in one of the nicer ones. Rent and cost of living were high of course, but Elsa assumed that Anna must have made enough from her detective business to be able to afford the apartment.

With her tour completed, Elsa returned to the couch where she quietly sat down and placed her hands in her lap. After several minutes, the shower shut off and Elsa could hear Anna stepping out. A strange thought entered her mind then in which she pictured Anna nude as she towelled off her body. She imagined how her red hair might shine, slick as it was from being wet and how her skin would be warm to the touch.

Gooseflesh erupted all over Elsa's arms and she felt herself becoming undoubtedly aroused as she continued to play out the scene in her mind. From her wet hair to her warm skin, Elsa filled in the rest of the blanks by picturing the rest of Anna's body. She had caught a glimpse of Anna's frame from beneath her shirt when she had removed her long-coat, and while she was perhaps a bit thin and wiry, it was still captivating and deeply pleasing to Elsa nonetheless.

A heat was beginning to build between Elsa's thighs, which she understood to be the product of her arousal. While she understood the basics of her anatomy well enough, her understanding was still primarily academic. This was her first real experience with the remarkable feeling of sexual arousal and Elsa started to press her legs together to stoke the small bud growing within her core. In her mind, she continued to imagine Anna and recalled the way her soft hands felt on her skin, as well as the way she had run them up and down her own arms.

A small, rapturous sigh escaped from Elsa lips at the same time the sound of a body collapsing into bed caught her ear. Elsa's eyes snapped open and she hadn't even realized that they were closed as she was brought back down to reality. She remained stock still, and eventually, Anna's snoring could be heard through her bedroom door, indicating that she had fallen fast asleep. Elsa then relaxed and released a shaky breath, allowing her arousal to cool down while she felt a flush of shame.

She remained sitting in the darkness of the living room for a while longer, simply listening to Anna sleep. Elsa turned her head over to her bedroom which was when Anna's long-coat that was left draped over the couch caught her eye. She reached outward to touch it, then hesitated, shooting a careful glance back towards Anna's bedroom door.

 _She did say to make myself at home,_ Elsa thought.

Without further hesitation, Elsa reached out and took hold of the garment, bringing it close to herself as she held it to her nose. Elsa took a deep breath and filled her senses with Anna's essence. The most overpowering note that Elsa detected was whiskey, sharp and distinctive. She also detected the faint and acrid scent of gunpowder from the ballistic residue that was left on her coat from whenever she fired her hand cannon. However, beneath it all was something far more tangible and pleasant. Anna's scent was fragrant and slightly spiced, smelling of something like oranges, peach blossoms and cloves. Perhaps it was a perfume or a soap that Anna used, but whatever it was, it was intoxicating.

Elsa breathed deeper and shut her eyes, letting Anna invade every one of her senses. Soon, she suddenly became very tired and rather than fight her fatigue, Elsa let it take her over as Anna's scent guided her to a deep and restful sleep.


	21. The Dreamers of the Day

* * *

_So… we're finally doing this._

_Yeah. I- I'm… I'm a little nervous._

_That's okay. I am too._

_But we'll always stick together, right?_

_Of course. We'll always stick together, no matter what._

_Forever?_

The serene smile from Nora's face faded and she glanced to the side away from Anna. When she looked at Anna again there was a tight, pained expression on her face.

_Nora? What's wrong?_

_You need to wake up, Anna._

_What? But I'm not asleep._

_It's time for you to wake up now. I can't stay._

Anna scrambled forward and pulled Nora tightly into her embrace, but already she was fading into airy wisps of nothingness as the scenery of Anna's dreamland began to disintegrate.

_No, no, don't go. Please… don't go! Don't leave me, I don't know what to do without you._

_I'll find my way back to you, Anna, I promise._

_Nora!_

Anna woke from her dream with a start, rising up like a shot out of a cannon with her hand outstretched, reaching out for the last vestiges of her sister who had once more returned to the hallowed realm beyond. She let her hand fall limply to her sheets as she breathed in and out heavily, gradually returning to dreadful reality as her senses returned to wakefulness.

"Fuck," Anna whimpered as she buried her face in her hands in an effort to stop some of the tears that had begun to flow down her cheeks. "Fuck fuck… fuck!" she repeated angrily as she pounded her fist against her covers, desperate to feel anything at all against her skin once more.

As much as Anna wanted to return to the realm of her dreams, she knew she would not be able sleep again. Her covers suddenly felt hot and stifling and Anna roughly swept them aside as she padded over to her bathroom to wash up. She stopped in front of her mirror and barely glanced at her own sad reflection as she turned the knob on the sink and splashed cold water over her face. Now more awoken, Anna shut off the sink with a deep sigh and then towelled her face dry before exiting her bathroom.

Anna made her way over to the door and exited into her living room, where she found a familiar head of white hair poking out from underneath her long-coat. Elsa was fast asleep and curled up into a ball on her couch, using Anna's coat as a blanket.

 _She looks… really sweet when she's sleeping,_ Anna mused as she quietly went over and glanced over Elsa's sleeping form. _Better not wake her. At least she can get a good night's rest._

Elsa's expression was serene and calm, almost regal like a queen in repose. Outside, the day was breaking and a single shaft of pale sunlight pierced through the blinds on the windows and landed directly on her head of white hair, making it glow brighter than anything else in the room. Anna re-examined the dusting of freckles on Elsa's face and sighed oddly pleasantly, as if the familiar sight of them was strangely comforting though foreign at the same time.

As if sensing her presence somehow in her sleep, Elsa shifted over and pouted her lips for just a moment before settling into a new position facing more towards Anna. It was the first time that Anna had ever caught Elsa asleep and the sight of it brought a small measure of peace to her own restless mind. At the same time, the brief pout of Elsa's lips made something tug on Anna's heart and despite the sullen mood with which she woke, she found herself smiling as she studied the white-haired woman.

 _I wonder what she's dreaming about,_ Anna thought. _What do androids even dream of? Electric sheep?_

Thinking no more of it, Anna turned and made her way towards the kitchen where she pulled down a single plate, glanced over to Elsa, then pulled down another. She set those aside then bent down to open a cupboard by her feet where she retrieved a frying pan. Setting the pan down on the electric stove, Anna turned on the heat and as the pan began to warm up, she went over to her fridge and pulled out a carton of cloned eggs as well as an opened packet of synth-bacon. Afterwards, she returned to the stove where she set those items off to the side, then opened another cabinet above her head and pulled down a pack of dehydrated shelf-stable bread.

Anna then turned her attention back to the pan which was now sufficiently warmed up and tossed in the remainder of the bacon. As she cooked the bacon, it squelched and popped while the fat rendered out and formed a small pool of grease. As soon as it was finished, she served an equal amount of the bacon on to each plate, then turned her attention to the eggs. She cracked four eggs into the pan to cook them in the bacon fat, then whisked them with a spoon to scramble them. As they finished, she added a touch of salt and pepper for seasoning, then scooped an equal amount of the eggs onto each of the two plates.

After that, Anna turned off the stove, then removed two slices of the dehydrated bread. In their current form were just small dense tablets that looked more like stone, but as soon as water was added to them they would fluff up to their full size. She put one each plate, then went over to her sink and filled a glass with water then poured a small amount onto each piece. She watched with mild interest as the tablets sucked up the water and expanded into two small loaves of bread.

Now that breakfast was ready to be served, Anna picked up both plates then carried them out to the living room. She set them down, then went back and retrieved some cutlery after which she paused and examined her roommate.

Elsa still hadn't stirred from her sleep and Anna debated whether or not she should wake her. A small whimper caught Anna's ear and she snapped up, gazing over at Elsa whose face was no longer a mask of serenity but one of pain. Her lip was trembling and her eyes were darting around beneath her eyelids, a look which Anna recognized from when they were at the Memory Palace.

 _Is she…? Should I do something?_ Anna asked herself. _I better wake her._

Elsa tossed more violently, flipping over onto her back as her whole body began to tremble as if she were plunged into an ice bath. Anna couldn't bear to watch Elsa's anguish anymore and she leaned forward, gently shaking her by her shoulders to rouse her from her sleep.

"Elsa, hey," Anna said gently. "Come on, snap out of it."

Elsa continued to whimper fearfully when suddenly, her eyes snapped open and she sprung up like a rocket. She gasped loudly as she woke, breathing in and out heavily while her blue eyes that were still clouded over by her nightmare darted around in panic.

"Woah! Hey now," Anna said as she laid a hand on Elsa's shoulder. "Take it easy, it was just a dream."

"A- Anna?" Elsa whispered as her eyes settled and cleared.

"Yeah, it's me," Anna nodded. "You're okay now, don't worry."

"I- I was dreaming… I thought I was back inside the…"

Elsa didn't finish, but made a soft mewling sound as she buried her face in her hands. Anna understood the pain of an unpleasant nightmare all too well and the one she had just had still lingered in her mind.

"I'm sorry," Anna said softly.

Elsa released a few shuddering breaths then looked up. "It felt as if I was back at VanirCorp… back inside the FMR machine."

 _Definitely not electric sheep,_ Anna thought.

"I- I could feel everything… the pain," Elsa continued as she laid a hand over her heart. "It was as if I was being torn apart, piece by piece, before being stitched back together again. Over and over again.

Anna swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded. "That must have been awful."

Elsa's eyes began to shimmer with tears as she pulled her knees in close to her chest. "I thought they had me again… I- I thought… I was scared they made me forget again."

Anna leaned in closer and clenched her jaw, feeling sorrow for Elsa for the greatest thing that they shared in common was pain.

"I thought I forgot you," Elsa said quietly.

Something about the way she said it and the tone of her voice made Anna think that nothing could have been more horrifying to Elsa. There had once been a time when Anna yearned to forget and lose her memories of Nora. It was the primary reason for her drinking habit, for the remembrance of her sister only served to deepen the grief she already felt. If she forgot who Nora was, or forgot that she even had a sister entirely, Anna thought it would spare her some of the pain and loss she felt day in and day out. However, now that she had met Elsa, the very notion of losing one's memories, identity and the very conception of one's sense of being terrified her beyond belief. As much as it was a burden at times, memory was a gift that Anna had long taken for granted until Elsa came along.

Anna looked up and smiled thinly to comfort Elsa. "Well, you didn't. And you're still here, right?" she said reassuringly.

"Right," Elsa nodded shakily.

"I didn't think it was possible for you to get nightmares," Anna admitted.

"Me neither," Elsa said as she shook her head morosely. "It's not often that I dream, but when I do…"

"It's bad. I know the feeling… it's kinda the same for me too," Anna murmured as she turned her head to the side and frowned. "I had a bad dream as well."

"What did you dream of?" Elsa asked quietly.

Anna sharply turned her head back to Elsa, causing her to recoil and take back her question almost immediately.

Elsa shrunk on herself. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't press-"

"No, it's fine," Anna waved away her concern. "I just can't really remember it anymore, that's all," she lied.

"Oh," Elsa nodded.

A silence settled upon them as each of them returned to thoughts of their nightmares. After a while, Anna remembered their food which was getting cold and gestured towards it.

"For some lighter news, I made breakfast. Eggs, bacon, toast," Anna said lightly. "We should eat it before it, uh, you know, gets cold."

Elsa brightened immediately as the dour expression on her face disappeared. So quick and earnest was her change of mood that Anna found that some of her own gloom was dispelled.

"Nobody's ever made me breakfast before," Elsa said shyly as a delicate smile crept across her face.

She pulled her knees down from her chest and then realized that she was still covered with Anna's long-coat, which she promptly removed and placed to the side.

"Really?" Anna quirked an eyebrow. "They didn't feed you at VanirCorp?"

"No, they did," Elsa shook her head. "They just always passed it to me through the door, and it was never anything as good as this. What they gave me was always this textureless, flavorless sustenance paste."

Anna made a face as she knew exactly the kind of paste she was referring to. "Yuck. Sounds more like prison."

"In many ways, it was," Elsa said then she smiled valiantly so as not to let the mention of her time there sour her mood any further. "It smells delicious," she said as she bent down to smell Anna's cooking, closing her eyes as she did.

Anna felt her flush with color from Elsa's compliment and she turned away, preferring to examine the stitching on the fabric of her couch. "Oh, this is nothing really… just something that I whipped up, I guess."

Elsa smiled tenderly as she shuffled slightly closer to Anna. "Hmm, beautiful and modest," she muttered to herself.

 _Oh crap, not this again,_ Anna thought. _Does she even know what she's doing? Stop that Elsa, stop saying things like that, stop being… so goddamn sincere. Stop making me feel things!_

Anna decided to ignore her comment and instead focused on the food sitting on her plate. She set to devouring it immediately which much gusto. Elsa took that as her cue to begin eating as well though she did it with considerably more grace. As they ate, neither of them spoke though the silence was actually pleasant and comfortable rather than stifling and awkward. Anna finished her plate first, then once Elsa was done, she collected their plates and returned them to the kitchen where she set them in the sink. She was just about to start rinsing them when Elsa's pale hand shot out as she appeared by Anna's side.

"Please, allow me," Elsa said.

"Elsa, it's fine, I don't mind doing it."

"You've been kind to me Anna," Elsa said softly. "It's the least I can do."

Anna stood paralyzed for a moment, transfixed by the beauty and kindness of Elsa's eyes as they gazed upon one another. She could see her own reflection there but more than anything else, Anna could see how Elsa hid nothing from her. Everything she said and did was always completely earnest and honest, even the tremendous amount of pain and sadness that was also contained within those prismatic expressive pools of light.

"S- sure," Anna swallowed thickly, still mesmerized by Elsa's eyes. "Whatever floats your boat."

"I don't own a boat," Elsa frowned slightly.

"It's a saying. It just means, like... whatever makes you happy."

"Oh," Elsa considered that for a moment, then smiled cheerfully. "I like it."

 _Why are you like this?_ Anna asked in her mind. _Why are you the way that you are? I mean, I know that, but its goddamn nonstop with the cute factor. You take everything so literally._

Anna stepped aside to let Elsa clean the dishes and leaned back while she twiddled her fingers together, glancing around. She happened to catch the end of Elsa's ponytail, which trailed down the slope of her back. Anna's gaze was pulled further downward, tracing the curve of Elsa's lower back where it then rose up to meet the curve of her shapely rear.

_Oh no…_

Anna turned away, made a fist and bit into it all the while shooting furtive glances back at Elsa from the corner of her eyes. Still, she couldn't help but gawk at Elsa's form, who remained unaware that she was being studied so intently busy as she was with the dishes. From her rear, Anna went downwards and traced the smooth planes of Elsa's thighs, thinking for just a moment if they felt as strong as they looked. She recalled the time she felt the muscles in Elsa's arms which triggered a fantasy in which Anna pictured herself running her fingers over the pale flesh of her legs, feeling the warmth and strength coursing within.

_This can't be happening to me right now. I'm sober!_

"Anna, did you hear me?" Elsa said, cutting into Anna's thoughts and bringing her back to attention.

"Huh? I mean… err, yes! Well, no," Anna rubbed the back of her neck and chuckled nervously. "Sorry, w- what did you say?"

Elsa looked amused then shut off the sink and set the dishes aside before drying her hands with a towel. "I asked what are we going to do next?" she said.

"Oh, right… of course," Anna straightened up. "We need to get our bearings straight. You've got the drive, right?"

"I do," Elsa said as she reached beneath her shirt and removed the thumb drive. "This omni-pad that K gave me should accept this so we can access the data."

"Great," Anna rubbed her hands together and walked out of the kitchen back towards the couch where she took a seat. "Let's find out what our next heading is."

Elsa went alongside Anna then sat next to her as she inserted the drive into a port on her omni-pad. The interface blinked to life, bringing up a file selector containing all of the data within. Anna watched as Elsa swept through the files using buttons on the omni-pad until she found the one she was looking for and pulled it up. The display was small, so Anna had to lean in closer to Elsa to see it, catching a pleasant scent on the white-haired woman as she did. It was crisp and cloyingly sweet, like peppermint mixed with notes of vanilla and honeysuckle.

 _My god… she even smells great,_ Anna thought as she breathed in through her nose. _Does she smell like this all the time?_

The location of Gjallarbrú was some ways beyond New York City, lying to the north along the Hudson River near the former United States military academy known as West Point. However, the only issue was that due its strategic location and importance, much of the academy had been reduced to rubble and what remained was buried beneath the swollen waters of the river. The land surrounding West Point was a toxic wasteland much like the immediate area surrounding the city, though the levels of radiation they would encounter there were notably higher and therefore, much more dangerous.

"There it is," Elsa pointed out the highlighted location on the display of her omni-pad. "Roughly eighty six kilometers from the city."

"There's not much to find up there other than an old military academy. Though… I guess it would make a lot of sense to put a secret lab up there," Anna said. "Eighty six klicks away and it won't exactly be a walk in the park either. Everything to the north of the city is glowing with radiation or burnt to the ground. Nobody goes up there, not even gangs or scavvers."

"We have the booster shots that K gave us," Elsa replied.

"Those will help, but we'll also need respirators, extra filters, detoxicillin," Anna counted off the items on her fingers. "Guns too, if the stories I heard about packs of mutated wolves are true.

The wolves that Anna spoke of were in fact Gray Wolves, a species long thought to have become extinct in upstate New York prior to the collapse. However, following the decimation of America's population, the wolves returned to haunt the abandoned settlements to the north, carving out their own territory which they fiercely defended. The radioactive fallout that blanketed those lands had drastically mutated the wolves, transforming them into vicious, bloodthirsty beasts that were considerably larger and stronger than their ancestors.

"Most of that gear I already have, which is why I wanted to come back here so we could pick it up. The only thing we don't have are detox meds," Anna explained. "And those we'll need because I don't know about you, but I'm not too keen on sprouting any extra limbs or anything. Those meds will flush the gunk from our systems and, you know, stop us from turning into radioactive soup."

Elsa nodded. "Where can we find them?" she asked.

"PharmaCorp sells them but they've got a stranglehold on all meds in the city. We won't be able to get our hands on them especially since we're wanted fugitives," Anna frowned. "Only other places that would have them are hospitals but… all the ones here in the city are guarded and we definitely won't be able to break in and steal them."

Elsa panned out on the map and traced a route from the city center to West Point. "What if we searched the hospitals outside the city? There's one here, in Yonkers, right by the river," she said as she zoomed in on a location that was along the halfway point to their destination.

"Yeah," Anna nodded and scratched her chin. "Yeah, maybe. I know the one, it's abandoned but we might be able to find some there. It's on the way to West Point, so it wouldn't hurt to check," she frowned then brought up her own omni-pad and pulled up a map. "Hang on, the map I have is more up to date than yours… I think there's a way to- yes, got it!" she swiped through map filters until she found one that revealed areas of radiation around New York. "That hospital is right on the edge of the hot zone, so the rads shouldn't be too high there. It's definitely worth a shot."

"I agree," Elsa said before a pensive expression settled over her face and her voice dropped to a more serious register. "But… it will be very dangerous Anna. I can't ask you to risk your life for me."

"I still owe you," Anna said firmly. "You saved my life twice now and besides, if I stick around here, VanirCorp will find me eventually. If we stick together, we got a better shot and I can't think of a better place to hide then a… highly radioactive, mutated wolf infested, hellhole."

Elsa considered the latter part of what Anna said for a moment as she kept her searching gaze focused solely on her. "Sarcasm?" she asked.

"Yes, but you get what I'm trying to say."

"Okay," Elsa smiled sweetly.

"Alright then, we better leave while we still can," Anna said as she rose from the couch and started making her way towards her bedroom when she paused and turned back towards Elsa. "Come on, it'll be faster if you help me pack up our gear," she said.

Elsa beamed and immediately came over before hesitating at the open threshold before Anna's bedroom. She carefully took the tiniest step forward and dipped her head as if she were a pilgrim approaching consecrated ground.

Anna sighed deeply. "Oh for- look, I know it's messy but it's not like I have a roommate or anything. Would you please just come in already?"

That was all the encouragement that Elsa needed as she entered the room and shyly glanced around, soaking in Anna's most personal and intimate space. The room was indeed a mess, as piles of clothing were scattered about complemented by the occasional empty food wrapper or casing. In the center, against the wall opposite from the entrance was a double bed which Anna somehow in her sleep managed to cover the entire area of. Adjacent from the bed were windows which were almost always covered by blinds as well as a walk-in closet. Next to the entrance to her room was the ensuite bathroom that Anna primarily used.

Anna left Elsa where she was standing by the door and went over to her closet where she clicked on the light and knelt down to begin rummaging around. "Okay," she muttered to herself as she rifled through the unorganized piles of her belongings, tossing out random items over her head. "Now where did I put the… no, that's not it… no, that's not it either… no… nope… hmm, no."

Meanwhile, Elsa remained a small distance away from Anna and looked on with mild amusement as Anna depleted one pile while forming another one just behind herself.

"A ha! Here they are," Anna stood up with two canvas travel backpacks. "You take this one," she said as she passed a bag to Elsa then returned to digging through her closet. "Here we go, one for me and one for you," she set aside one respirator and tossed the other one blindly over her head towards Elsa.

Elsa caught the items easily and tucked them away in her own bag while Anna stood up and reached around on a shelf above her head until she pulled down some spare filters for their respirators.

"Take these," Anna said as she handed a few to Elsa without looking at her, focused as she was on packing her own bag. "Definitely can't forget those, now what the hell else did we need?"

"Weapons," Elsa replied.

Anna snapped her fingers. "That's right! This way, to my office," she said as she slung one strap of the backpack over her shoulder and made her past Elsa, nearly tripping over a random pile of miscellaneous things on the floor.

Together, they entered the office where Elsa came to a stop in front of the desk while Anna went over to her safe. She punched in the code then withdrew her backup sidearm then examined it for a moment. Though Anna's preferred brand of firearms was Ronin, the extra weapon she kept on hand in case of emergencies was an ArmaRex CP2076 'chromehand' sidearm.

The gunmetal frame was nickel plated and it sported several built in features. Along the top was a reflex sight which allowed for easier target acquisition, attached to the bottom of the barrel on a picatinny rail was a flashlight, the magazine well was flared out to allow for faster reloads, and finally the fire selector allowed the weapon to shoot semi-auto as well as in two round bursts. It's magazine capacity held fourteen rounds and though the chromehand sidearm was common, it was a rugged and highly versatile weapon platform with modular interchangeable parts for high customizability.

With it in hand, Anna offered it to Elsa.

"You're giving me a gun?" Elsa asked.

"Yeah, take it," Anna said. "I trust you."

Anna had already seen what Elsa was capable of doing with just her bare hands and she wondered if that same level of lethality translated over to her proficiency with firearms. Normally, handing a gun over to an android would have been an outlandish thought that Anna never would have once entertained and she would have even felt much the same when she first met Elsa. But now, things were different and Elsa was certainly different. Anna didn't think of her as such, not anymore. Now, she trusted Elsa.

"You know how to use one of those?" Anna asked as she pulled out a few spare magazines and some boxes of ammunition, then handed those over to Elsa.

With practiced ease, Elsa took one of the magazines and inserted it into the magazine well, then racked the slide to chamber a round. She then ensured that the safety was on, then as an extra precautionary measure, she kept her finger off the trigger as she tested its weight in her hands and examined the sights.

"I'm familiar with them," Elsa replied nonchalantly as she finished her inspection and tucked the gun away behind her back in the waistband of her jeans.

"Alright then," Anna said as she packed some ammunition for her own hand cannon in her bag then turned around and went back towards the kitchen once she was finished. "Now, we'll just need some grub for the road. If I still had my skycar, we could have just flown there but those asshole scavvers shot it down which means we'll have to hoof it. Guess it'll be easier for us to slip out of the city this way. They've gotta be monitoring all air traffic going in and out right now."

"Have you been out beyond the city often?" Elsa asked.

"Now and again, if I'm tracking somebody or looking for something that needs finding," Anna replied as she opened a cupboard and pulled down the remaining foodstuffs. "On foot, I'm guessing it'll take us at least two days to reach West Point, maybe more," she said as she split their food items in half and passed over Elsa's share.

Elsa packed away her new possessions in her bag. "Even then, I imagine it'll take some time to find Gjallarbrú. We only know it's location, not specifically how to find it. That facility may still be operational and it's possible we could run afoul of VanirCorp."

"Those are good points," Anna agreed. "But between you and me, I think we can handle it. I mean you've got your super intelligence and superpowers and I've got… well, I can probably do what you do just… slower, and clumsier."

"I think you are quite a capable woman, Anna," Elsa said sincerely. "You shouldn't speak so lowly of yourself."

Anna perked up and fixed Elsa with a curious look. "Why? Does it bother you?" she asked.

"It does," Elsa nodded.

"Hmm," Anna shrugged as she withdrew a few water bottles and packed them into her bag. "I guess I'll try and… keep that in mind then."

The bright smile returned to Elsa's face as she nodded happily and continued to help Anna with the packing. Anna went over to her fridge to examine its contents for anything else she might have missed, then paused as soon as she spotted the sustenance paste ration packs.

 _Ugh, starving would be preferable,_ Anna thought as she gagged at the memory of the first time she tasted one.

She had been hanging onto them in case of an emergency, and after some thought she came to the reluctant conclusion that their situation qualified as such. Anna packed away the sustenance paste into her bag and then closed her fridge, after which she glanced up and met eyes with Elsa who had finished her own packing.

"Ready?" Elsa asked.

Anna nodded. "Ready."


	22. No Good Deed

* * *

Being wanted fugitives with a bounty of six million credits on their heads, Elsa and Anna were left with little choice but to proceed to their destination on foot. All air traffic in and out of the city was being monitored by an increased security presence within the city, notably more so than was usual. In less than twenty four hours since Anna's rescue of Elsa, practically every advertising surface featured their faces and the bounty offered for their capture. Before, Anna decidedly kept a low profile as a means to protect herself, but now, she had been branded as public enemy number one alongside Elsa whose existence had once been a very closely guarded secret.

Elsa couldn't help but feel responsible for this turn of events given that Anna had been the one who risked everything just to help her. While she was certainly grateful to Anna, she felt an equal degree of shame and regret for essentially ruining her life. Elsa couldn't foresee the future but she could anticipate what came next and no matter what, it just seemed impossible that either of them could stay in New York for much longer.

More pressing still was the possibility of their shared past. Elsa knew Anna, that much she was sure of but that knowledge alone invariably raised more questions. Questions that she wasn't yet equipped to answer.

 _There will be answers at Gjallarbrú, I'm sure of it,_ Elsa thought. _There has to be something there. Records, reports, anything. The backup files Theodore gave me were incomplete, so there must be more to find there._

Reaching Gjallarbrú was sure to be a daunting task, but Elsa had Anna's assurances of her assistance and now, she had no reason to doubt her. So sure and faithful was Elsa's trust in Anna that for the first time in her life, she felt the small beginnings of hope in her heart. Whatever came next, they would decide and face together.

Since air travel wasn't a viable option and traversing the city streets was a sure way to be apprehended, they were forced underground. Luckily, New York's expansive subway and sewer systems would allow them to make their way out undetected. It wasn't particularly their shortest or cleanest route, but it was certainly the safest since they were hidden from sight from the world above.

Anna peeked out from behind a squeaky door that served as a one way exit from her apartment building at the ground floor. The lower half of her face was concealed by the high collar of her long-coat, similar to Elsa's own face which was obscured by her scarf.

"Coast is clear," Anna whispered as she stepped out into the early morning light. "Come on, entrance to the subway isn't far."

Elsa nodded and followed along after Anna as the pair crept their way across the central park apartment blocks towards the fifth avenue subway station. There weren't too many people up and about at this time of day and those that were, were mostly homeless vagrants and street urchins that kept to their own business. At one end of the street was a group of four rough looking individuals who glanced over in their direction for only a moment before returning to their conversation.

"Calm down," Anna whispered. "Just play it cool."

"I am calm," Elsa replied.

"I was talking to myself."

"Oh."

Since eyes and ears were everywhere in New York, Elsa and Anna quickened their pace while trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Before long, they made it to the subway entrance where they descended into the dark below.

The tunnels and subway services were decommissioned shortly after the mag-rail trains were implemented and with no further use for them, they were abandoned. Miles and miles of underground passages lay beneath the city, though most were flooded to varying degrees. Those that remained dry lay sequestered away in complete darkness, offering safe refuge to the lowliest denizens of the city.

Once they got off the streets and descended into the entrance to the subway tunnels, they came across a rusted metal grate that barred their path. Elsa ripped it open easily enough, then together she and Anna pressed deeper into the old tunnels. The light from above became more and more faint until it disappeared from existence completely, surrounding them in darkness. To see, they both lit up the flashlights on their omni-pads to illuminate their way, revealing nothing but dust and detritus everywhere they looked.

As they crossed through a turnstile, Anna fussed with her omni-pad until she pulled up an old map of the subway system she had procured from the net. She then manipulated it as she turned it into a 3D hologram that lay at her feet.

"Looks like we can follow the tunnel here until it links up with the Lexington Avenue express line and follow that until it takes us out of Manhattan," Anna said.

Elsa frowned as she gauged the distance. "Will the tunnels be clear all the way there?" she asked.

"No way to tell," Anna shrugged. "It'll be a long walk and… I hope you aren't afraid of the dark because we'll be down there a while."

"And you're certain this is the safest way to get out of the city?" Elsa asked as she looked up from the map at Anna.

"I can't guarantee safe, but it's still better than taking our chances up top," Anna said as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I've never actually been down here before so… if I'm being honest I have no idea what we'll see along the way. Could be some mutated rats or… gigantic turtles or something."

"Really?"

"Maybe, who knows?"

"That would be frightening."

"Don't worry, I'll hold your hand if you get scared."

Elsa perked up and smiled. "You will?" she asked eagerly.

"Shit, that was out loud?" Anna looked away as her face reddened. "I mean… uh, yes, that… that is, i- if you want to."

"I'd like that," Elsa smiled more widely, excited and comforted by the prospect of touching Anna's skin again.

"Whew! It's hot down here isn't it," Anna chuckled nervously as she loosened her collar and fanned her face which suddenly became flustered. "I'm hot, are you hot? I mean, I know that you're hot," she snapped up as a look of horror crossed her face. "Hot in… in the sense that you're warm, heh. I definitely wasn't saying that you're… you know, _hot_ hot… not that you aren't, because you really really are! I was just… it got lost in translation. How did we- what were we talking about?"

Elsa glanced down at herself then shrugged at Anna. "I don't feel warm, are you feeling feverish Anna?" she asked politely.

"N- no! No," Anna said hurriedly. "I was only asking that- I didn't mean it like- I was just saying… that… I… think it's warm down here."

"Perhaps it shall get colder the further down we go," Elsa said. "Shall we?"

"Yes!" Anna perked up as she suddenly recalled their reason for being underground.

Down beneath the earth, the air grew noticeably more chilly and still, having been undisturbed for decades. Pressing deeper into the tunnels, they descended a rickety old escalator which groaned loudly and echoed through the dark. From there, they rounded another bend then found themselves standing on a subway platform.

"Which way do we go?" Elsa asked, frowning as she peered down long tunnels on either side of the platform they were standing on.

"Hmm," Anna scrunched her face up in thought then walked towards the edge of the platform and dropped down onto the tracks below. "It's this way. Come on," she said as she pointed down a tunnel.

"You're sure?" Elsa asked as she dropped to the tracks next to Anna.

"Positive," Anna gave a quick smile before she headed off down the tunnel, walking along the tracks.

Elsa followed along and together, they walked side by side as they proceeded further into the bowels beneath New York. In the dark and silence of the narrow tunnels, every sound they made was amplified, causing long echoes to ring out and potentially alert anyone or anything they might have the misfortune of encountering. To avoid announcing their presence, Elsa and Anna talked softly and walked quietly, always minding where they stepped to mitigate the noise they created.

"These tunnels are similar to the ones at Minerva," Elsa observed as she shone her flashlight at her surroundings. "Less clean and maintained of course."

"Right, Minerva," Anna nodded. "What was that place like anyways? I don't think I ever asked you."

"It was… remarkable. I met a man there, Doctor Sinclair, who had once worked on Project SNOW for VanirCorp. He agreed to help me and that was shortly before I met you."

"What was he doing hiding out with a bunch of andys?"

"He was the one who started Minerva. He wanted to provide a safe haven for androids and other artificial intelligences who had been… enslaved. I suppose that's the right word for it."

"Uh huh," Anna nodded her head slowly. "And what did he have to do with Project SNOW? With you?"

"He was the original head of the project when it was started by Andreas Rosenthal, the previous CEO of VanirCorp and father to Matilda," Elsa replied. "Project SNOW's initial aim was to develop a cure to Alzheimer's disease, which afflicted the Rosenthal family."

Anna made a face as she stepped over a puddle of some unknown substance, then looked up back to Elsa and waited for her to continue.

"Andreas died in 2077 which was the same year that Matilda had a daughter, who also died shortly after childbirth," Elsa explained as her voice dipped to a somber register. "She assumed control of the company and then… she became obsessed with Project SNOW. Matilda wanted to create a new lifeform, superior to human beings while serving as a testbed for memory treatment and experimentation to find a means to slow the advance of the disease. Doctor Sinclair tried his best to steer her on the right path, but she began to turn to _unethical_ methods."

"That doesn't surprise me," Anna snorted. "Corpos will do anything it takes to get what they want."

"She turned to kidnapping and murder to find suitable candidates for the project. They needed as many tissue, organ, blood, and DNA samples as they could acquire," Elsa said quietly. "Even harvested children, so I'm told."

Anna turned a shade paler as she looked over to Elsa. "Okay… now that… does surprise me. Jesus, that's horrible."

Elsa swallowed a lump in her throat. "Yes, it was. When Doctor Sinclair found out what she was doing, he left the project. Matilda then tried to have him killed to prevent him from leaking knowledge of their illegal research. He disappeared, went into hiding, and that's when he started Minerva."

"So I guess it makes sense now why she thinks of you as her daughter. She made you as a way to replace her own, right?"

"It's the same reason why I have white hair, just as she does. When I was still at VanirCorp, she would occasionally call by her name. Eleanor."

"Eleanor," Anna repeated softly. "Hmph. So I take it she's getting sick too, same as her father?"

"Yes," Elsa nodded. "She's dying."

"Ah, well it couldn't have happened to a nicer person. She might be dying and sure she lost her daughter, that's shitty, but that doesn't make kidnapping children and cutting them up for science right," Anna grumbled. "It doesn't make what she did to you right either."

Elsa understood Matilda's reasons better than anyone else and there had once even been a time when she might have sympathized with her. But not now, not after she had endured years and years of torture, of having her mind torn apart until she forgot who she was, of endless suffering and manipulation that was disguised as benign intervention.

"No… it doesn't," Elsa agreed. "I don't know what I'd do if I ever-"

A sudden clang echoed from the down the tunnel far behind them, causing Elsa and Anna to freeze in place as they turned around.

"Uh… what the hell was that?" Anna asked nervously. "That sounded close."

Elsa peered into the darkness behind them and focused her hearing until eventually, she could hear out distant voices and footsteps that were trailing them. "Do you hear that?" she asked. "I can hear voices, people speaking."

"I can't hear anything," Anna shook her head. "But I doubt they're just down here for a stroll, whoever they are."

"I agree," Elsa said.

Anna then grabbed Elsa's hand as she quickly led them over to an alcove that was set into the side of the tunnel. "Well let's not stand here waiting around to find out what they want. Let's hide and get the drop on them," she whispered.

Normally, Elsa would have been delighted at the contact of her skin against Anna's were it not for the situation they now found themselves in. They both shut off their flashlights and crouched down, pushing themselves as far back from the main tunnel as they possibly could, shrouding themselves in darkness.

There, they waited until the distant voices grew louder as they approached their position. It sounded as if there were four of them, walking heavily and talking loudly.

"You're sure you saw them coming down here?"

"I'm fuckin sure. Two women, one with red hair and one with white, both with their faces hidden. I saw them head down to the subway entrance with my own two eyes.

"And how are we supposed to fucking find them down here, Jack? These tunnels are a goddamn maze!"

"Will you guys shut the hell up! How are we supposed to get the drop on 'em if you keep jawing on like this?"

"We have to find them first to get the drop on them."

"We'll find them! Alright? Just think of that cool six million credits we'll earn if we do."

"Shit, I don't know man. Six mil doesn't split four ways easy."

"You better not be thinking what I think you're thinking."

"And just how in the fuck am I supposed to know what you're thinking?"

"Guys! Shut the fuck up! They could be anywhere in these tunnels and you fucknuts will scare them off if they hear us coming."

In the darkness of their hiding place, Elsa felt Anna move next to her as she brandished her hand cannon. Realizing that these men were bounty hunters looking for them, Elsa did the same and withdrew her sidearm as she and Anna lay in wait.

Soon, four beams of lights crossed their line of vision, stretching on down the tunnel as the bounty hunters neared their position. None of them were paying much attention to their surroundings and before long, they were practically right on top of Elsa and Anna as they passed by them, unaware of their presence.

"Maybe we should split up?"

"What, and get lost? Nah, fuck that."

"Well maybe we should? I don't want to be down in this shit all day."

"So you can run off and grab the bounty then leave the rest of us down here? I don't think so."

Once they passed a safe distance beyond them, Anna reached around in the darkness until she felt Elsa's arm then patted it twice.

"Come on," Anna whispered. "Follow my lead. We got the drop on these idiots."

"Right behind you," Elsa replied.

Together, they both crept out from the alcove and followed along after the four loud bounty hunters, tracking them by the flashlights they used. Ahead of the group lay a section of tunnel that split off down two other tracks, where the bounty hunters were currently debating on which way to go.

"Which way Jack?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know? You're the one who had us follow them down here."

"I mean, I don't fucking know!"

"This is just great, now what do we do?"

"Maybe we can-"

"Hello, boys!" Anna called out as she pointed her flashlight directly in their faces and took aim with her hand cannon. "You look a bit lost."

Elsa did the same and raised her sidearm, keeping it levelled towards the four bounty hunters who had turned around. They were dressed in ragged clothing and armed with worn and beaten looking firearms, gazing at Elsa and Anna with shock and recognition.

"Not lost," one of them stepped forward and spat on the ground. "Looking for you two actually."

"I know," Anna rolled her eyes. "We could hear you the whole time. You're very loud."

One of the bounty hunters slapped the leading one's shoulder. "Told you we should have been quiet, Jack!"

Jack sighed and turned around. "Right now? Really, you wanna do this right now?"

"Enough of this, let's just blast them," another bounty hunter said as he reached for his weapon.

"Ah ah ah," Anna said as she aimed it towards him. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Besides, you can't collect the bounty if we're dead."

"And why is that?" one of the bounty hunters sneered.

"Because," Jack sighed and turned to his other companion. "We're supposed to turn them in alive, you idiot. The bounty says so. Can't you fucking read?"

"Okay so we just clobber them!"

"Counter offer," Anna said. "You walk away, and forget you ever saw us."

"It would be in your best interest to leave," Elsa cut in. "No amount of credits is worth your lives."

Jack scoffed. "Here's a… counter… counter offer, there's four of us and only two of you. How about you lay down your guns and come with us. You do that and we'll treat you _real_ well. Show you a bit of fun before we hand you over. You know, I like red-heads. Gator over here, he likes them blondes too."

Elsa furrowed her brows in anger as she was overcome by protective instinct. Jack's crude remarks aimed at Anna didn't sit well with her at all.

"Yeah, that's gonna be a hard pass," Anna said.

Elsa stepped forward. "Walk away," she said firmly.

"Is that a threat?" Jack asked.

"No, that was a suggestion," Anna said as she aimed her cannon back at Jack. "Get the fuck out of here, now. Or, we'll spill your tiny brains all over these tunnels and leave you to the rats," she stepped forward alongside Elsa. "Now, that was a threat. See the difference?"

One of the bounty hunters raised his weapon. "Fuck these bitches man, let's just-"

Elsa didn't let him finish as she placed a single burst of her sidearm between his eyes. The rounds slammed into his skull and popped out the back, spraying the three remaining bounty hunters with blood and gore.

The gunshot rang out loudly, amplified by the echoes as it shocked his companions who stumbled backward or attempted to reach for their weapons. Before they could, Elsa fired again and placed a burst right into Jack's stomach, dropping him to the ground. Meanwhile, Anna joined in with her hand cannon as she quickly double tapped the remaining bounty hunters.

"Agh, fuck!" Jack whimpered as he clutched his gunshot wound. "No, no wait!"

Elsa approached him and kicked away the gun near his hands then stepped on his gut.

Jack squealed in pain, then held up his hands in surrender. "Don't shoot me… just let me g-"

He didn't get the chance to finish when two bullets found their way home inside of his head. With that, the tunnels returned to silence once more and Elsa exhaled heavily.

"Whew," Anna sighed as she put away her cannon. "Nice shooting," she said to Elsa as she walked over to a dead bounty hunter and nudged him with her boot.

"Thank you," Elsa said as she returned to a ready stance before putting away her sidearm. "Are you alright?"

"Feeling fine now that these schmucks are taken care of. You?" Anna said as she knelt down and began patting around a dead bounty hunter's pockets.

"Better. They weren't very subtle."

 _And rude,_ Elsa thought, which had been the reason why she decided to kill them as soon as she heard them insult Anna.

"Ha! No, they weren't," Anna chuckled. "Well, let's see if they had anything useful on them."

Elsa knelt down and busied herself with searching another one of the corpses for anything useful as Anna had suggested. She patted around his pockets and came up with a few extra magazines for a pistol, but tossed it aside when it was the wrong caliber for her sidearm. Meanwhile, Anna acquired two extra filters that would fit their respirators and rose to turn to Elsa.

"Here, catch," Anna said as she tossed one over. "At least they were good for something."

Elsa caught the filter in her hand easily then tucked it into her bag. "Indeed," she agreed. "Though, this is troubling. If they could find us down here, then surely others can as well. We should keep moving."

"No argument from me," Anna adjusted her bag on her shoulders then brought up her map once more. "There, that way," she said as she started down the tunnel to their left.

Elsa fell in step alongside her and together, the two pressed deeper beneath the city through the darkness.

… … …

They walked for some time, encountering nothing else besides the occasional rat and random piles of junk. At regular intervals, they would pass through empty stations and platforms that were trapped in limbo, awaiting trains that would never arrive. Once they reached a certain point, the air grew noticeably thicker and harder to breathe, which forced Elsa and Anna to don their full face respirators so they could continue forwards.

Elsa stepped into some wet muck, where she stopped, frowned, and lifted her boot to examine what she had just stepped in. It was a foul mixture of flood waters and garbage that they were now walking through, and were it not for their masks, they might have passed out from the stench alone.

"Gross," Anna muttered as she came to a stop next to Elsa. "Tunnels must be flooded ahead."

Elsa looked to the sides and spotted a raised path that ran alongside the length of the tunnel. "We could walk up there to get above the waterline," she said as she pointed her flashlight towards it.

"Good idea," Anna said as she looked around until she spotted a ladder they could use to get up. "After you," she said as she stood aside and gestured to Elsa.

Ascending the ladder, Elsa turned around once she reached the top and held out her hand to assist Anna as she climbed up.

"Oh, thanks," Anna said as she accepted Elsa's hand and pulled herself up so that they were standing next to each other.

Elsa smiled and let her hand remain in Anna's for a little longer than was necessary as they looked sheepishly at one another. After another moment, Anna let go first then proceeded down the walkway with Elsa following behind. It was the second time that their hands had touched since entering the tunnels, but she delighted in every single time that they did. However, it was hardly the appropriate time or setting to become giddy over it, so Elsa reigned in her enthusiasm as they carried along.

Anna had been correct that the tunnels had become flooded. As they walked along the raised path, the tracks below them disappeared beneath murky flood waters that rose a meter high. They walked along the raised path, staying dry and out of the soupy toxic water until they reached another empty platform. This one was different from the others they had encountered as an old subway train lay abandoned where it had stopped at its final destination.

"How far have we come?" Elsa asked as the path they walked on widened out onto the tail end of the subway platform, allowing them to stand side by side.

"Hmm," Anna pulled up her map and examined it closely. "Looks like we're almost out of Manhattan. We're right by the Harlem River, which would explain why this station is flooded."

"And this tunnel will take us beneath it?"

"Yep. So, let's hope we won't have to swim because this water does not look inviting."

On the platform ahead of them, the stairway leading to the surface had collapsed due to a partial cave in. All around them were signs that pointed to the dubious structural integrity of this particular station as large cracks had formed on the walls. Meanwhile, rivulets of water ran down and joined in wider streams, pooling in the subway tracks. The only way forward was to progress further down the tunnels, which were currently blocked by the subway train that lay parked, forcing Elsa and Anna to walk through it.

Upon entering the subway train, they found a grisly sight. Still sitting in the seats or lying across the aisles were a multitude of human skeletons. They greeted Elsa and Anna with haunting visages of death, while rats and cockroaches alike fled from their lights. Most of the ancient corpses were dried, mummified husks, with thin leathery skin that was stretched over their bones and pulled taut over their skulls. Others which had been more exposed to moisture over their entombment had become mottled and slimy green, with waxy paste of rot clinging to their parchment skin.

Elsa froze, arrested by the macabre train of death as she stared ahead and took in their surroundings. Her gaze eventually settled upon a seat just off to the side, where the skeleton of a child clutched the remains of their parent, forever trapped in the moment of their demise for all eternity. Next to Elsa's side, Anna gulped deeply and blindly reached out with her hand until her fingers found Elsa's and they clasped around each other for comfort.

"Well… th- this… this is just the most horrifying thing I've ever seen in my life," Anna muttered.

"What happened here?" Elsa asked softly.

"I don't know… but this place gives me the creeps. Let's go, I don't want to stick around here any longer than we have to."

Elsa said nothing, but nodded understandingly and squeezed Anna's hand reassuringly. They both carefully picked their way through the subway train, stepping over and around corpses where they lay so as not to wake the dead from their sleep.

From one end to the other, the entire train served as a tomb for a countless amount of corpses. How they perished was a mystery, but if one had to guess, it had likely happened at some point during the collapse when much of America was burning, rioting, and falling apart. In the time since then, it was clear that nothing had disturbed the final resting place of the train's occupants. Once they reached the end of the death train, they came upon a door that was partially jammed open, allowing them to step up onto a similar raised pathway like the one from before. They climbed up and out, then went a short distance away where Anna let go of Elsa's hand and shivered head to toe.

"Ugh, so creepy," Anna said as she shook herself off. "Glad to be out of that place."

Missing the contact already, Elsa clasped her hands together and stared back at the death train in thought. "It's sad, isn't it?" she asked, feeling remorse for the staggering amount of life that was lost in some horrific and unknown tragedy.

"Lots of people died like that during the collapse. Scared. Forgotten about," Anna murmured. "Lots of people still die like that these days. I try not to think about it too much."

Elsa looked back and saw the distant and pensive look that had settled over Anna's face. Just as quickly as it had appeared, the look disappeared when Anna noticed that Elsa was staring at her.

"Come on," Anna said as she resumed walking down the tunnel. "We're almost out of here."

Glancing one last time back at the train behind them, Elsa suppressed a shiver that crept down her spine, then followed along after Anna, eager to return to the realm of light and the living.


	23. Deference for Darkness

* * *

Anna and Elsa's journey through the subway tunnels beneath New York took them a good portion of the day due to the fact that they were travelling by foot and because of the deteriorated condition of the tunnels. The route took them underneath the Harlem River, which also passed under the northeastern section of the seawalls that surrounded the city. From there on, they were able to cross over several blocks into what remained of the Bronx where they were now about halfway to the hospital they were trying to reach.

As the last remaining free city on the eastern coast of the former United States, New York was situated in a precarious location. The parts of the city that remained habitable were confined to Manhattan as well as parts of Brooklyn and Queens. As for the surrounding area, much of the sprawling urban zones had been reduced to crumbling ruins or were left abandoned altogether, allowing nature and wilderness to return and take over. The lands to the far north of the city were nothing but vast wastelands, which was also true of what had become of the state of New Jersey to the south. To the west lay sweeping desertscapes that had once been the heartlands of America, while to the east was the Atlantic Ocean which crept further in each year at an alarming rate. In fact, the entire eastern seaboard had been transformed into what became known as the storm coast.

Anna raced up the stairs out of the subway station two at a time, eager to leave the darkness of the tunnels behind as they climbed to the surface. Next to her was Elsa, who easily kept pace with her without so much as breaking a sweat or breathing heavily, unlike Anna.

"Finally!" Anna cried out as they ascended the final steps and emerged back out on the surface once more. "We're back on top, whew," she sighed as she removed the respirator mask from her face then gulped down deep breaths of semi-fresh air.

Next to her, Elsa did the same and tucked the mask away in her bag. She looked up the fading light of the sky and smiled serenely, basking in the remaining warmth of the sun's rays. They were both standing by a subway entrance in the middle of a burnt out street, with the buildings all around them reduced to charred rubble.

Behind them, across the Harlem river lay the bulk of the city which pulsated like a beating heart of neon light. They had left the city in the morning and reemerged on the surface in the late afternoon as their journey through the dark had taken longer than expected. In the time since, the sky had darkened considerably and a light rainfall was drizzling down in thin razor blades that sliced through the air.

Anna turned around and found Elsa, who was waving a hand through the air idly to catch raindrops on her hand as she smiled to herself. She left her like that for a little while longer, content to just simply watch the white-haired woman lose herself in the feeling of the rain against her skin. It was clear to Anna that Elsa enjoyed the rain more than anything else and for as often as it rained in New York, she never really gave it much consideration until now.

 _It's sort of… nice how she can see the good in things,_ Anna thought. _Nora was like that too..._

"It's pleasant, no?" Elsa asked as she turned to look over at Anna.

"What, the rain?" Anna shrugged. "I guess so. I never really notice it anymore, not unless it's really coming down."

"I don't think I could ever get tired of it."

Elsa's expression was calm, even, and almost happy. In fact, only whenever it rained did Anna notice how tranquil the white-haired woman became. It was endearing, and Anna found herself wishing she could do more to bring peace to her troubled mind, if only she could do the same for her own.

"We could stay here a while," Anna said quietly as she turned her gaze up to the sky. "Find a place to hunker down for a bit. My feet are killing me."

Evening was nearly upon them and they had spent most of the day walking so they could do with a rest.

"Shall I carry you?" Elsa suggested with a small, hopeful grin.

"As tempting as that sounds, I think I'll be fine. Don't think of me as some damsel in distress you could sweep off her feet," Anna countered teasingly.

Elsa shook her head though the smile remained on her face. "I would never," she said.

"Right, well," Anna chewed her lip in thought then turned her gaze northwards in the direction of their goal. "We should get a move on. We're exposed out here."

Elsa nodded and together, they made their way down the blackened streets, making tracks in the deep soot which began to mix with the rainwater. They spent a while simply walking in silence through the scablands, passing through rows and rows and burnt out cars that had been left where their owners stopped them for a final time. Like the death train they encountered in the subway tunnels, some of the cars still contained the skeletal remains of their occupants, slowly crumbling to ash same as the world of a bygone time around them.

Anna and Elsa passed them by in the same indifferent manner as they walked through the ruined city until eventually, they came upon the remains of a café that still had parts of its roof intact. It offered only meager shelter, but still the most out of any of the surrounding buildings around them. With slim prospects of finding a better place to rest, they entered the café through the shattered glass door that still had a bell that rang.

"I don't believe that anyone has come through here in a very long time," Elsa said as she ran a finger down a table, making a track in the dust and ash.

"Good thing for us then," Anna replied as she searched around behind the counter of the café.

Elsa peered out a shattered window to survey the silent ruins around them. "The rain will cover our tracks, but I fear if those bounty hunters could find us in the tunnels, then someone could find us out here as well."

"You're right," Anna nodded. "We shouldn't stay here for long. Soon as it gets a little darker, we'll head back out there," she said as rummaged around a cabinet. "But until then, we should rest for a bit and eat something. I'm starving," she grabbed two items and straightened up. "Oh, and look. Two cans of Pep-Up soda. You want grape or root beer?"

Elsa scrunched up her face in thought until she came to a decision. "Grape. I know what a grape is, I don't know what root beer is."

"Heh, okay," Anna chuckled. "Alright, come on. Let's eat."

Together, they took a seat at the table and set their bags on the floor. Anna withdrew a can of synth-beef stew from her bag and as she reached for two sets of plastic utensils she brought along, she realized then that they lacked any plates or bowls from which to eat from. Deciding to forego the formality, Anna shrugged to herself and ripped open the pull tab on the top of the can of synth-beef stew, opening its contents.

"We don't have anything to eat on, so I hope you don't mind if we just pass it back and forth?" Anna asked as she slid over a spoon to Elsa.

"Not at all," Elsa smiled as she picked up her spoon.

As they tucked into their meal, Anna handed the grape soda over to Elsa while she tapped on her own can before opening it. Elsa watched as Anna did that, then mimicked the same movement before opening her own can.

"Ah," Anna smacked her lips after she took a sip of her root beer, then looked at Elsa who was taking a tentative sip of her own. "Refreshing, right?"

Elsa puckered her lips and blinked several times. "It's very sweet."

"Yeah, and the great thing is, its only got like five hundred calories. Plus, everything the healthy human body needs like a cubic buttload of sugar and high fructose corn syrup."

"Hmm. Sarcasm again?"

"Yep," Anna took a bite of stew and handed it over to Elsa. "You're catching on."

Elsa smiled as she accepted both the can and the compliment. "Thank you," she said appreciatively.

After another few minutes, they had finished their meager lunch. When Anna finished her soda, she tossed the can casually over her shoulder, while Elsa set hers aside politely. Anna also disposed of the can of stew in the same manner, not really caring about littering since the whole world was essentially a landfill now.

Outside, the rain continued to fall though the wind had begun to pick up, howling and moaning through the empty streets. A chill had settled upon them and the first frosts of the season had begun to appear on the shattered glass of the window panes where they etched icy shapes of fractal patterns. Winter would be upon them soon; only a few weeks off though it was not uncommon for snow to appear earlier than expected.

Anna observed the darkening streets outside, then turned her attention back to the scant warmth offered by the shelter of the café. Deciding to make use of the inclement weather that would surely conceal their tracks while they still could, Anna knelt down and picked up her bag, draping it over her shoulders.

"Come on," Anna said to Elsa. "It's just a little further to the hospital. If we move quickly, we can make it there before nightfall."

… … …

The pair continued to travel on foot, eventually passing the point where the Harlem River rejoined with the Hudson. Following route nine northwards, Anna and Elsa journeyed through the scorched ruins until they eventually faded away to more recognizable urban surroundings. Though they were unmarked by fire, they were still marked by the ravages of time. The only plant life that could be sustained in the concrete jungle were ragged weeds that sprouted everywhere through cracks in the concrete as well as moss that covered nearly every vertical surface. They passed along in silence like pilgrims wandering through a bleak and desolate landscape, walking by empty buildings and climbing over rusted shells of cars in the streets congested with traffic that never moved. The only sound to accompany them was the steady wind that carried the memory of a world gone by, only to scatter it to the howling dark.

Above, the sky continued to darken rapidly while the rain fell in fat and heavy drops, signalling the approach of a coming storm that would soon arrive. After a few hours of trudging through the weather and the urban decay, Anna and Elsa arrived at the hospital that was situated next to the riverbank. From the time that it was initially constructed prior to the collapse, the hospital had seen several new expansions and additions to the building. Like many other buildings in the city that had seen the same retrofits, the parts of the hospital that were constructed of brick and concrete joined seamlessly with modern metal and glass panelling extensions on the original structure. However, since the collapse, the hospital had been abandoned, shuttered up, and left to rot.

"Jeez," Anna whistled as she surveyed the abandoned hospital through her rangefinder from the top of a large parking structure that stood across from it. "This place is bigger than I thought."

"Then there stands a better chance that we'll be able to find the supplies we need, no?" Elsa asked

"Here's hoping," Anna replied. "Do we want to go in there right now or wait until tomorrow morning?"

At her side, Elsa turned her head up to the evening sky, searching it for thin shafts of moonlight that were obstructed by the thick rain clouds. "Better to wait until tomorrow," she said. "No sense in endangering ourselves by wandering through the dark. We should rest and regain our energy."

"Huh, my thoughts exactly," Anna agreed before she yawned and rubbed her eyes.

Limited by the encroaching night and the weather, Anna and Elsa descended down the parking structure one level where they would be safe from the elements. They found a spot sandwiched between a few cars that overlooked the hospital which also provided a vantage point where they could observe the road for any possible threats. Not that it was likely that anybody would be travelling at this time of night let alone through the desolate lands that they had crossed.

Once they set down for the night, Anna ate a small supper of rehydrated bread which was washed down by a small drink of water.

"You sure you're not hungry?" Anna asked as she looked over to Elsa, who was vigilantly standing watch a few meters away, observing the quiet night outside.

"No, I'm quite full from the earlier meals we had today," Elsa said as she glanced over to Anna before smiling reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

Anna had anticipated that their journey to Gjallarbrú would take at least two days, but now it appeared that it would take some time longer. If they were to make it there, they would have to stretch out their food and water to last their journey as well as scavenging for anything else they could find along the way. Then again, Elsa didn't have to eat as much as an ordinary human required, which meant that if worse came to worst, she could forego a few meals that Anna would certainly need.

"I still don't even get how that's possible," Anna stood up and walked over to Elsa, then rested her arms against the concrete railing. "I mean look at me, I'm skin and bone but I eat more than you do. But you," she gestured up and down at Elsa's body. "You eat less than me, but I mean… come on, you look great," she sighed and turned her gaze outside once more. "It's not fair," she added softly.

"My enhanced metabolism allows my body to use nutrients and energy more efficiently," Elsa said. "I feel hunger, the same as you, just… less often I suppose," she turned to Anna and nudged slightly closer.

"What about your… abilities? You have to maintain your muscles and stuff somehow, right?"

"As far as I'm aware," Elsa shook her head. "No."

"Ugh, that would be amazing," Anna sighed as she cupped her chin in her upturned palm. "Okay so what about your training? How do you, I don't know, keep sharp?"

"Keep sharp?"

"Yeah," Anna said. "I've seen you fight and you know you way around a gun, was this stuff that they taught you at VanirCorp?"

Elsa turned her head away from Anna as she considered her question. "When I didn't have lessons with Miss Rosenthal, they ensured that I remained busy by putting me through combat training simulations."

"That explains a lot then," Anna nodded. "But if they… uh, trying to find the nicest way to say this… but if they- well if they _erased_ you, wouldn't you have just forgotten everything anyways? What was the point, I mean… other than to just play god?"

"Yes," Elsa said quietly. "I imagine they wanted to see what I was capable of learning and relearning, as a way to develop a cure to memory degeneration brought on by Alzheimer's. Some things… aren't easily forgotten though. My combat training, for instance, was something that after enough repetition became instinctual. I don't have to put any thought into it because I'm just reacting naturally in those types of situations."

Anna nodded. "Well, it's certainly useful," she said. "Doesn't make it any less fucked up what they did to you, but, at least you can kick some serious ass."

Elsa smiled tenderly, but said nothing else. A quiet moment settled upon them, and for a long while both of them were just content to bask in the silence and darkness of the night beyond. There was a lot on both of their minds and Anna had many things to think about and many more questions still to ask. She bit her tongue for now, not out of awkwardness nor fear of making Elsa uncomfortable, but for the simple fact that Anna didn't even know where to begin.

It was a surprising thing for Anna to realize just how comfortable and familiar she had become with Elsa in the short time they had known each other. Perhaps it was because they've already survived a few life or death scenarios, the fact that Elsa has saved her life on more than one occasion, or greatest of all, that the truth of their unknown connection brought them closer together. It was a mixture of all those factors but beyond that, there was something far deeper and more persistent than any of those. Tried as she might to deny it at first, Anna was drawn to Elsa somehow, compelled by forces within her heart and her mind that she could hardly understand. Parts of it were indeed attraction, for Elsa was transcendent in every respect, but there was also parts of her that wanted to shield from the cruel world, to protect her from any further injustices, and to heal her broken mind.

Beneath it all, Anna knew that Elsa was simply a good person who had been forced into a horrible situation by forces beyond her control. She didn't have a choice in being created, nor did she have a choice in the very things that were planted within her mind. Despite all that, Elsa possessed a fully realized sense of self-awareness and she accepted the truth of the person she was. Anna both envied and admired that about her, for she herself had lived for so long, struggling to find her way in a world that had taken her sister from her. Up until she met Elsa, her days had been consumed by darkness and despair. More often than not, Anna wished for something to end her life; a random accident such as being struck by a bolt of lightning or for an aneurysm to kill her in her sleep. But now, she had someone who cared for her and the worst thing she had feared had now come to pass.

Anna cared about Elsa.

She may have been an android, but Anna now saw her as anything but. Elsa was human, with a human mind, with a human heart, and with a human body. Anna saw the way with which Elsa interacted with and reacted to the world around them, and there was nothing replicated or imitated or fabricated about it. Elsa wasn't obeying some strict lines of code, she didn't adhere to any type of programming, she just simply existed. She had her own thoughts, her own feelings, and her own dreams. She was a person, living and breathing and struggling with her past just like Anna was.

More than that though, Elsa genuinely cared about Anna which was plain as day to her now. She was always kind and considerate, from the moment they first met even when Anna was cold to her. Elsa never held anything against her, even after she had nearly been turned over back to VanirCorp. Anyone else would have likely killed Anna for such a heinous betrayal, but Elsa had merely accepted her fate with such candor and grace that it made Anna feel like the worst human in existence.

 _Shit, what the hell is the matter with me?_ Anna thought as realization dawned upon her. _How could I have ever turned my back on her? How could I have been so selfish and evil? I'm not good… I don't think I ever was._

Anna shifted in place uncomfortably and glanced over to Elsa, who was watching the night with a calm expression. She looked at the white-haired woman for a long time, seeing both Nora and Elsa as her mind couldn't tell either of them apart.

 _What would Nora think of me?_ Anna thought. _She'd be sick of me, she'd think I'm a horrible person and she'd be right. And… she would forgive me, because she was good._

She sniffed and looked away, discreetly wiping her eyes to hide the small tears that had appeared. Thinking of Nora, Anna was reminded of something she wanted to ask Elsa earlier.

"Ahem," Anna cleared her throat. "Hey, Elsa?"

Elsa looked over to Anna, bright-eyed and hopeful. "Yes?"

"There was something I wanted to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Those… nosebleeds that you get? Do you know what causes them?"

Elsa pursed her lips and frowned in thought. "I can't say for certain, but I believe they're linked with memories of my donor that are triggered by certain events," she said. "I'll feel… pain and fuzziness and a kind of tugging in my head and then… nothing."

"Memories of your donor," Anna repeated, then she decided to press forward and explore the possibility she feared most. "Do you remember the first time it happened?"

"Yes," Elsa replied. "We were eating ramen and the scent of the food triggered it then."

"I told you ramen was my favorite food."

"You did."

Anna chewed her lip in thought and turned away before sighing heavily. "Ramen was the last thing that… Nora and I ate together, before s- she…"

It hurt just to even say her name and ever since her death Anna tried as much as possible to avoid saying it. When she was still tormented by her memories of her, Anna went beyond refusing to say her name by erasing any evidence of her existence. Any pictures of Nora that she had, any mementos that she kept she got rid of. The only thing she couldn't get rid of were her memories.

Elsa nodded solemnly, but said nothing as she sensed that Anna still had more to say.

"I- I've been thinking," Anna started after she collected her wits. "I've been trying to put the pieces together for a while now, and… I still don't have all the answers but I- I think… at least, fuck."

"Yes?" Elsa said, though her face filled with apprehension. "What is it, Anna?"

Anna stuttered and stumbled over her words a moment longer, then sighed as she turned around and leaned her back against the railing as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay, lo- look. You don't know who your donor was, right?"

"Right."

"And y- you said… said that you were born in 2086?"

"Yes."

"That was the same year that sh- my sis- that… Nora, died. But that's not everything, you also said to me that… you knew me. I- I can't remember ever meeting you before but maybe… maybe that's because it wasn't you that I met, but it was… a _different_ you," Anna sighed and buried her face in her hands. "I'm not making any sense am I?

Elsa - ever the astute one - sensed where Anna was going and provided the answer for her. "You think that Nora was my donor."

Anna removed her hands from her face to look up at Elsa and when she did, her eyes were shimmering with tears. She half-chuckled and half-sobbed as she gestured helplessly with her hands. "I- I know… it sounds crazy but the more I think about it and the more I look at you… I- I- I can't ignore it."

Elsa had stiffened and her face had fallen into a blank, impassive expression as she considered the weight of what Anna was saying.

"It scares the hell out of me," Anna croaked. "But it's… it's something that we should talk about right?"

"Nora," Elsa said softly to herself. "Your sister… if I was made from her DNA then-"

"You'd be her," Anna finished. "But… I mean, that would be… impossible, right?" she asked, pleading for a way out, a way to deny the awful potential truth that she couldn't bear to face.

"We don't know anything for sure yet," Elsa said carefully. "But it is… certainly a possibility."

Those hadn't been the words that Anna was hoping for but they provided a meager amount of comfort nonetheless. Elsa was right. Everything they were discussing right now was still theorization, but it was still based on highly compelling evidence. Anna didn't press the issue further but she began pacing back and forth rapidly as her head swam with more frightening possibilities.

 _There is a way to test this,_ a voice spoke inside Anna's head. _We just have to bring up Nora's memories and see if it triggers anything in Elsa._

 _No, I can't do that,_ Anna replied. _Not right now, I can't even think right now. This is… this is just too much._

_You'll find out the truth sooner or later._

_Then I'll find out later! Please… I can't… Elsa… not with the way I feel about her. I can't do that to myself, or her._

_How do you feel about her?_

Anna stopped in place, paused by that one line of questioning which she hadn't given much thought to until now.

 _I… care about Elsa,_ Anna finally admitted to herself and once that threshold had been cleared, she had opened the floodgates of emotion in her mind. _I don't want to hurt her, I don't want anything else to hurt her. I want to make sure nothing else bad ever happens to her, I want to hold her, I want her to hold me- wait, what?_

She realized that for the first time, she had greater inclinations towards Elsa then simple physical attraction. The other voice in her mind spoke no more, cruelly leaving her alone with her thoughts with only the sound of her rapidly beating heart for company.

 _I can't feel like this, she could be my sister, she could be Nora!_ Anna protested. _No, there's just no way, I can't- this can't happen._

Her heart continued to pound in her chest but now it seemed to thrum as if to respond to her true feelings that she was trying to deny. Anna couldn't stand her racing mind and heart any longer and she suddenly dropped to her knees, thirsty for a strong drink to obliterate her feelings she was desperately attempting to suppress.

"Anna?!" Elsa raced over and knelt at her side, holding her up gently by the shoulders. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

Elsa's touch was like hot ice, oddly comforting yet disconcerting at the same time given everything Anna had just realized. Part of her wanted to recoil from her grip and another part of her wanted to sink into her embrace and neither side could prevail over the other so Anna simply remained stiff as a board.

"I- I'm just… I need a drink," Anna mumbled.

"I'll get you some water," Elsa said then gently squeezed Anna's shoulder for reassurance before she left.

She rummaged through her bags and a moment later returned with a water bottle, which she unscrewed and held out to Anna.

 _I knew I should have packed some booze,_ Anna thought.

"Here," Elsa knelt once more as her face twisted into a mask of concern, further addling Anna's mind from the sheer display of sincerity. "Drink this."

With a shaky grip, Anna accepted the water bottle and raised it to her lips, downing thick gulps of the clear liquid to quench her thirst. It wasn't the drink she wanted, for if it was whiskey Anna could have simply drank until she passed out. That would have been preferable because then she wouldn't have to face her conflicting emotions.

"You're shaking, Anna," Elsa murmured.

"Just… tired," Anna replied weakly. "I'd very much like to pass out right now," she murmured as she settled upon the ground and brushed aside from dust so that she could lay down.

Elsa nodded and glanced around, searching for a comfortable place for Anna to sleep. There wasn't much in the way of sleeping arrangements as they were inside of a parking structure, still, Elsa removed her leather bomber jacket and bunched it up so that Anna could rest her head on top of it.

"Here, you can lay your head on this," Elsa said as she patted the improvised pillow. "It's not much in the way of bedding, but it's better than nothing."

"What are you gonna do?" Anna asked.

Elsa stood up. "I'll stay up and keep watch, but you don't have fret about me. You should rest."

Anna glanced over to Elsa, who had retreated a respectable distance away to give her space and turned halfway from her so that she could only see Elsa's side profile. Elsa sank to her knees and then tucked her legs beneath her thighs, resting her weight against her feet and keeping her back straight as she settled into a _seiza_ meditation position. She kept her hands in her lap and her head slightly bowed as she silently observed the night outside, remaining ever vigilant as she kept watch over Anna.

Elsa was the picture of refined poise, quiet and contemplative and still as the mirrored surface of a pond.

On the other hand, Anna was still restless but she also knew that getting some sleep was most prudent, if only she could stop thinking for just a moment so that she could drift away. She was lying on her back, still stiff as a board as she stared up at the ceiling above her, trying to clear her mind of any thoughts. When that proved useless, she shut her eyes and tried to focus on her own breathing, but no matter what, her thoughts always remained on Elsa, Nora, and of the potential sisterhood they shared that clashed with her own burgeoning feelings.

After a while, Anna opened her eyes again and glanced around, searching for anything to focus on that would distract herself. She turned her head and looked over to Elsa, who remained still as a stone. If her eyes weren't open, Anna would have thought that Elsa was sleeping but they weren't, she was wide awake and breathing in out evenly. Anna observed the slow rise and fall of her chest, and then synchronized her own breathing so that they were both in tune with each other. Over time, she felt the beat of her heart fall back into a slow and steady rhythm while at the same time, peace enveloped her mind as her thoughts turned blank.

Simply watching Elsa proved to be incredibly calming and the tactic worked. Soon, sleep began to tug on Anna's eyelids as she was pulled away into a deep and dreamless slumber.


	24. Do No Harm

* * *

Elsa sat in quiet contemplation, keeping an eye out for any trouble while Anna fell into a peaceful sleep. She was restless at first, tossing and turning about repeatedly until eventually her breathing evened out and she settled in, indicating that she had fallen fast asleep. Elsa waited a little while after, listening to the sound of Anna's breathing while she maintained her watch. Outside, the clouds parted enough to reveal a round and full moon, casting it's ethereal light down upon the earth and bathing everything in a pale white glow.

She had much to think about and the conversation they just shared had revealed a possibility that Elsa had never thought about until now. Elsa knew Anna in her previous life - that much was already clear - but what she couldn't ascertain was specifically how she had known Anna. However, now that Anna had brought up the possibility that she could have once been her sister, Nora, the evidence they had been presented with so far was far too compelling to be dismissed as mere coincidence.

 _Anna… Nora… Elsa,_ she thought. _Could I have once been Anna's sister?_

That revelation on its own brought on conflicting emotions within Elsa given the way she felt about Anna. If Elsa had been built from Nora's DNA, then they would be sisters by a technicality, which should have brought Elsa a degree of comfort but instead left her further confused and stricken with inner turmoil.

 _Anna is certainly attractive and my body has… responded to that by developing urges,_ Elsa thought as she tried to be rational and objective on the whole matter. _But if she is my sister, it would be inappropriate._

Once she was sure that Anna would not stir from her sleep, Elsa risked a glance over her shoulder to study Anna's prostrated form. She was lying on her back with her fingers interlaced over her stomach and her head turned towards Elsa. A single shaft of moonlight shone down upon her, lighting her up like a beacon where she alone was surrounded by nothing but darkness. Elsa shifted out of her _seiza_ and stood up, then quietly crept over to Anna where she could get a closer look at her. Elsa had never seen Anna asleep before and when she was awake, she always tried to maintain a respectful distance, though that was becoming increasingly difficult as of late.

Elsa had to constantly resist the urge to reach out and touch Anna; to feel the warmth of skin against her own, to feel the life coursing through her body, and to validate her presence as something tangible and real, someone who could feel her and someone who could feel herself in return. Her entire life had been spent in a state of limbo, passing through a hazy fever dream of memories and experiences that were hard to say whether they were fake or real. Elsa wanted to find out who she was, but now that she had a chance to experience what it was like to be something close to normal, she developed a growing desire to simply just _be_.

To just exist and to be validated in that existence wasn't something she could do on her own, limited by her own perception as she was. For that she needed someone that was external to her own experience of the world to ground her on earth and root her in reality.

That someone was Anna.

Her eyes were shut, peacefully asleep and blissfully unaware of her surroundings. Elsa hesitated at first, but then seized this rare opportunity to more closely examine the woman who had chosen to save her life from torment. She crept up silently until she was just within reach of Anna, where she settled back and simply observed her as she slept.

There was a stray lock of her crimson hair that rested over her face which Elsa focused on. From there, she tracked her gaze downwards over the soft peak of her nose, which was dotted with a sprinkling of freckles the same as her cheeks, albeit slightly darker and more prominent compared to Elsa's own. For a long while, Elsa stared down in contentment, simply counting each of the tiny dots and plotting imaginary star charts across the constellation of freckles that was stretched across Anna's face. She then stirred in her sleep, shifting over on her side close to Elsa while muttering something incomprehensible under her breath.

 _I wonder what she said in her dream,_ Elsa thought to herself as she smiled. _I hope it's pleasant. She's suffered so much already._

The smile on Elsa's face faded somewhat as her thoughts turned to the troubled life of the woman sleeping before her. Anna didn't speak of her past often, but what little she revealed showed that she had certainly led a hard life that had been full of pain, something that they both had in common. It was plain to Elsa that Anna had developed a drinking habit as a means to cope, something she couldn't entirely agree with but could still understand. Additionally, on more than one occasion, Anna had alluded to the fact that she didn't consider herself to be a good person, something that Elsa didn't agree with much less understand where such self-depreciative behavior emerged from.

 _I wish there was some way to make her see herself how I see her,_ Elsa thought. _She tried to hand me over, but she chose differently. She chose to save me, even when she had no reason to. She could have turned her back on me but she didn't. She's not like Rosenthal, she's not… evil, she's good. I believe she's good._

Beneath the necessary acts of brutality that one had to perform to ensure their survival, Elsa could look past their shared history of violence and see that Anna didn't take any pleasure in doing what she had to do just to scrape by. It was all anyone could do in 2099 as every day on Earth was another fight just to survive. Elsa couldn't blame Anna for that in just the same way she didn't blame herself for acting out of necessity whenever the situation called for it. Truth be told it was a loose moral code to live by, but it still provided a compass nonetheless.

"Thasmine," Anna muttered in her sleep as she adjusted her head slightly and turned it upwards towards Elsa. "Dontouch… myspaghetti…"

Elsa looked down and chuckled lightly as she smiled warmly, which was when she realized that she had actually laughed for the first time in her life. The first time she had ever felt joy and it was due to something as simple and mundane and unremarkable as some random nonsense mumbled by Anna in her sleep. Filled with warmth and hope, Elsa decided to forego the formalities as she reached down and gently shifted the stray lock of hair out of Anna's face, pushing it behind her ear. After that, she slowly ran her fingers through her crimson locks, feeling each individual silken strand and delighting in the soft and delicate feeling.

She stayed like that for a while, stroking Anna's hair as she kept a watchful eye over her while she slept.

The smile never left Elsa's face.

… … …

When morning found the pair, Elsa hadn't stirred for several hours and only when the light of the rising sun in the east shone down upon Anna's did she realize that she had spent the entire night by her side. Taking one last glance down at Anna, Elsa quietly rose to her feet then crossed over to their observation spot that overlooked the hospital. The morning was quiet and still, same as the night before and gradually, the last shadows of night were chased west across the Hudson river where they fizzled out and expired before the rising sun.

It was a new day and Elsa was feeling incredibly refreshed. She breathed in the crisp and cool morning air and turned back to Anna, who remained asleep and dead to the world around her. Elsa recalled the way her hair felt in her hands and as she looked down upon them to remember the feeling, a gentle smile spread its way across her face. She raised them to her nose and detected the lingering scent of Anna's essence; the familiar notes of oranges, peach blossoms, and cloves.

Anna stirred from her sleep, blinking her eyes open as she returned to wakefulness. She stretched languidly across the floor on her back and yawned loudly before glancing around. It seemed as if that for a moment, Anna didn't recall where she was or she wound up there as a look of confusion flashed across her face which vanished as soon as she laid eyes on Elsa. Anna smiled softly, which had the effect of warding off some of the early morning chill around Elsa even though she wasn't as sensitive to cold temperatures. Despite their intense discussion last night along with its implications, Anna appeared to be in a much better mood.

"Good morning," Elsa said as she matched Anna's smile. "Did you sleep well?"

"Pretty good, actually," Anna nodded. "Dreamed that I was standing on a cliff and the wind was blowing through my hair. It was nice."

Elsa blushed and looked away as the smile brightened on her face a little more knowingly. "You also spoke of spaghetti," she said. "You talk in your sleep."

"Spaghetti?" Anna made a face. "Huh, that does sound like something I would talk about. Anyway, how did you- wait, did you even sleep?"

"No," Elsa shook her head. "When I don't need to sleep, I pass the time by meditating. I suppose it's almost like sleeping, though I'm still well aware of my surroundings."

"Hmph, meditating," Anna muttered. "Tried it before, but never could get the hang of it. Anyways" she straightened up and picked up Elsa's leather jacket which she had been using as a pillow. "Here's your jacket back. Thanks for, uh, letting me use it."

Elsa couldn't resist sniffing the jacket slightly to pick up Anna's scent. "You're welcome."

Anna nodded, then she went over to her bag to see about breakfast. Again, she offered Elsa some food which she also refused, again. She had already eaten twice yesterday which would be more than enough to keep her sustained for another whole day. They stayed just long enough for Anna to eat a small meal consisting of a packet of assorted biscuits, then set off as soon as she was finished.

Parts of the river had swollen over the banks, partially flooding the lower land surrounding the hospital and transforming them into swamps. Houses, cars, and all sorts of junk stuck up from out of the muck, which Elsa and Anna were able to avoid by traversing over patches of high ground. Thankfully, it seemed that while the hospital was still intact, a sturdy levee of sandbags and concrete jersey barriers had been constructed around it, preventing most of the flood waters from overflowing into the complex. Still, given its current state weathered by time, parts of it were collapsing in on themselves, allowing isolated but large shallow pools of water to form within the perimeter on the hospital grounds.

Elsa and Anna left the road, heading towards an abandoned military checkpoint which as they crossed through, they passed by a warning sign that authorized the use of lethal force against trespassers and rioters. Here and there, Elsa noticed ancient skeletons poking up from the muck, slumped against improvised barricades or littering the streets. Looking at the desolation around them, Elsa's thoughts turned to the collapse which brought about the downfall of the United States. She learned of the events through her lessons with Matilda, but she had never heard tell of it through anyone else who lived through the aftermath.

"What do you know of the collapse?" Elsa asked Anna as they navigated through a maze of waist high metal fencing to pass through a decontamination center.

"That's kind of a heavy question to start the morning with isn't it?" Anna replied.

"I'm curious as to your experience, living through the aftermath of those years."

"Well, I… know as much as anyone else these days I guess," Anna started. "Obviously I wasn't around then and I don't think my parents had been born yet either."

 _I wonder what her parents would have been like,_ Elsa thought idly to herself. _Our parents?_

"But from what I hear, overpopulation and overconsumption were the biggest problems, which led to the resource wars. That lasted for a while until… somebody decided to launch some missiles. After that, the world just kind of fucked itself into a coma, rolled over in it's sleep and shat itself. Now, here we are."

Anna's abridged version of the events captured the basic gist of the collapse, but still didn't answer Elsa's question.

"The country fell apart soon after the missiles were launched," Elsa said. "There was intense rioting, violence… dark times, I'm sure."

"That's true," Anna said as she spread her arms out around her. "You only have to take a look around anywhere to see it. Of course, things calmed down a lot since then but that didn't mean growing up still wasn't tough in a world like that," she glanced over to Elsa.

Elsa said nothing, but made a small gesture urging Anna to continue.

"I think it was the worst out west. People from across the country were trying to get anywhere close to the coastlines to get away from the deserts. Canada had plenty of land, so of course the dickheads in charge of this sinking ship decided to annex them. Mexico was a failed state long before the collapse, so going there wasn't an option. The rest of the world closed its borders because nobody wanted to deal with American refugees. By the time I came into the picture, LA was stuffed to the brim. But, as if that wasn't bad enough, it got hit by some bad earthquakes and ever since that dump has just been crumbling into the ocean piece by piece.

"What was it like to live there?"

"It was definitely warmer, that's about it's only positive quality," Anna chuckled humorlessly. "Growing up there wasn't easy. N-... Nora and I were pretty much raised by the streets. We ran odd jobs here and there for gangs to make some credits, we slept rough in a different place each night, we were hungry most days," she heaved a sigh and turned her head forward. "We always had to watch our backs."

"I'm sorry, Anna."

"Don't be. Not your fault," Anna shrugged. "Besides, all that was… a lifetime ago."

Elsa nodded her head in understanding and did not press the topic any further. Each time she learned something new about Anna, she felt more and more sympathy for what Anna had endured in her life. With nothing else to talk about, both of them fell silent and refocused their attention on their destination.

After reaching the end of the checkpoint, they found the way barred by a chain link fence. Using a nearby truck that was parked against the fence, they climbed over and dropped into a tent city that was built on the parking lot around the hospital. From there, they made their way through rows and rows of empty and partially collapsed tents, scavenging a few items as they passed through. Elsa found a few extra foodstuffs in a triage tent, while Anna had found some extra bullets inside of a small ammunition box.

Once they cleared the tent city, they stood before the front entry to the hospital which was closed with metal barricades.

"Hmm. Place is sealed up tight," Anna murmured as they approached the barricades and peered through shattered windows. "There's gotta be another way in."

Elsa walked a short distance away, examining the walls and windows of the ground floor, searching for a point of ingress but found none. She turned her gaze upwards to the second floor and scanned along the wall until she found a partially destroyed section which they could use to enter.

"Up there," Elsa pointed to the hole that stood a small height off the ground. "We can climb in through there."

"Oh, yeah, you're right. Too high to jump up though," Anna placed her hands on her hips and chewed her lip in thought as she scanned the area around them for something they could climb on. "I don't see anything we can use to climb up, uh, okay. Tell you what, you can give me a boost."

"A boost?" Elsa asked.

"Yeah, you just sort of have to let me climb on you."

"Alright, if it'll help you."

"Great, now just stand right over there," Anna pointed to the base of the wall. "Okay, now just hold your hands out so I can get up on you, err, I mean, climb up. That's what I meant to say, heh."

Elsa did as instructed and planted her feet sturdy on the ground while Anna first stepped up onto her hands, where she then placed her other foot on Elsa's shoulder. With the extra height, Anna was able to reach up and grab the ledge, where she pulled herself up onto the second floor.

"Okay! Made it," Anna said as she dusted her hands and looked around. "Looks clear up here, now just wait there. I'll find something for you to-"

Down below, Elsa dipped her body lower to the ground in a squat, then leapt off her feet with her enhanced strength. Springing up through the air, she ascended easily up to the second floor where she landed neatly right next to Anna.

"Oh," Anna looked at Elsa and smirked slightly, then scoffed. "Show off," she muttered teasingly. "I could do that too, if... if I had implants in my legs."

Smiling pleasantly as she walked past, Elsa pressed further inside the building while Anna followed along. They were in the administration wing of the hospital, passing through empty offices and meeting rooms which they gave a cursory look through to turn up anything useful but found nothing of interest. The day was brightening outside and the sun illuminated pale shafts of light in which motes of dust floated idly about. Everywhere they looked indicated that nothing beyond dust and silence had inhabited the hospital since it was abandoned. Damp and mossy overgrowth covered the walls and flooring while furniture was strewn about randomly, overturned and left to rot.

"We need to find the lobby," Anna said as they crossed through a meeting room and entered a wide hallway that led further into the hospital. "There should be a map… or a directory, or something to point us in the right direction."

"Where would they have the medication we're looking for?" Elsa asked. "This hospital is rather large, it could be anywhere."

"Well, Detoxicillin is a class two drug, so they would have been stored under lock and key inside the hospital pharmacy, or kept on standby in the ICU."

"That narrows it down to two possible locations."

"Uh huh, so let's hope we can find the meds we need."

Proceeding out of the administration wing, Elsa and Anna made their way down a series of hallways until they rounded a corner that led to a stairwell. The stairs leading up had collapsed long ago which in turn caused the stairs leading down to fall as well, forming a large pile of rubble at the bottom of the landing which they had to drop down upon. From there, they entered the ground floor of the hospital where they found themselves in a wide and empty lobby.

Ahead of them was a circular reception desk with a sign above it that read 'visitor information' and was surrounded by rows and rows of seats that served as the waiting area. Anna approached the reception desk while Elsa trailed behind, sparing a sidelong glance to the multitude of black body bags that were arranged in a neat line just off to the side.

"Here we go," Anna said as she looked down upon a faded map that showed the floor plan of the hospital. "ICU is up over here, on the third floor while the pharmacy is down on… sublevel A? That's odd, you'd think it would be at least above ground."

"Perhaps it was to take advantage of the cooler subterranean temperature for drug storage," Elsa suggested.

"Makes sense," Anna said. "Must also be why the morgue is down there as well, oh and the crematorium is on sublevel B. Heh, lovely. So… which one do we hit up first?"

Elsa and Anna glanced at the body bags nearby then back to each other at the same time. Together, they arrived at the same conclusion, which was that the presence of the body bags stored haphazardly in the lobby - a high traffic area - suggested that the morgue and crematorium were likely overfilled. The prospect of wandering underground in the dark in such conditions was equally unappealing to them both.

"ICU?" they both said at once.

"Guess that settles it then," Anna said. "Let's go."

Together, they departed from the lobby and went over to the central elevators that connected all the floors of the hospital. Since the stairwell they encountered earlier could not be used to ascend to the third floor, they would have to seek some alternative means to reach the ICU. Anna approached one of them at random and pressed the button to ascend, but both of them were unsurprised to see that the power was not running.

Elsa then went over to the metal doors and pried them apart, which squealed from corrosion and echoed out up and down the shaft. The elevator car above them was presently stopped at the third floor, meaning that they would have to climb the ladder up and around it, then drop down inside.

Elsa peered up to examine their route, then turned back to Anna. "We'll have to climb the ladder," she said.

Anna stepped up next to Elsa and looked up, down, and across the way to examine the state of repair of the adjacent elevator shaft. The one immediately to their side was in worse condition, with the elevator car jammed tight between the first and second floors, leaning at a dangerous angle. The ladder on the opposite side had also been destroyed and the bottom of both shafts were filled with a tall pile of rubble.

"Yep, looks that way. We should go one at a time," Anna said as she went up to the rungs of the ladder to begin her ascent. "Why don't you spot me, I'll go first."

"Be careful, Anna," Elsa said.

"Yeah, of course. I'm always care- ow!"

"Anna?!"

"I'm fine," Anna sucked in air through her teeth and rubbed her forehead where she had banged it against a metal piece that jutted out. "Fine, totally fine," she chuckled.

Elsa sighed in relief, then placed her hands on her hips as she stared up. "I did say to be careful!" she called out as an amused smile spread across her face.

"I know, I know," Anna grumbled as she paused and looked down, noticing Elsa's expression of glee. "Wait, are you laughing at me right now?"

"No," Elsa shook her head as she grinned. "I'm not laughing, but it's certainly amusing."

"Ha ha ha," Anna said sarcastically, then resumed her ascent.

Once she made it to the landing at the third floor, she climbed up onto the top of the elevator where she disappeared from Elsa's sight.

She heard Anna muttering expletives to herself as she sounded like she was struggling with something heavy, which then gave away with a squeak of rusty metal. Anna then must have dropped down into the elevator, for the entire thing rumbled and motes of dust were shaken off.

"Elsa? Can you hear me?" Anna called down from above, though her voice was slightly muffled.

"Yes!" Elsa replied.

"You can come on up!"

"Okay, I'm coming!"

Elsa began her own climb up the shaft and before long, she was on top of the elevator car where she dropped down and found Anna waiting for her at the landing.

"How's your head?" Elsa asked teasingly as she brushed herself off.

"What, are you fucking with me now?" Anna asked as she smirked at Elsa.

"I'm only concerned about your well-being."

"Hmph. I thought you didn't tell jokes."

"I still don't."

"Okay, I get it. You're a funny person now," Anna shook her head and sighed, then glanced down the dim hallway towards the ICU. "Well, maybe we can find something to cure that sense of humor of yours."

"And, perhaps we can find something for your head wound," Elsa added with a sly grin.

"My head wou- terrific," Anna laughed. "C- can we get a move on now? Or did you want to stand here all day making fun of me?"

Elsa nodded. "Yes, the sooner we treat it the better."

"Oh, give it a rest already," Anna grumbled in a tone that was more amused than actually annoyed as she brushed past Elsa and started walking away.

The light of day coming in from outside was weaker and more diffuse on the third floor, which meant that longer shadows and pockets of darkness still persisted here and there. As they both headed further into the ICU, they passed by several empty exam rooms which they methodically searched. They pulled out cabinets and opened various drawers and cabinets, but found nothing of use. From the amount of dust covering everything, it was clear that nothing had ever stepped foot inside the hospital since it was abandoned.

At least, that was what Elsa thought until she spotted a patch of what appeared to be small footprints in the dust leading towards the collapsed stairwell they encountered earlier. What was worrying though, is that the footprints were vaguely human shaped, but with more elongated and sharper looking toes. Elsa leaned down to get a closer look at the footprints, while some distance away, Anna finished searching the final exam room.

"There's gotta be something here," Anna said as she raised her hands and let them fall against her sides in a frustrated gesture. "Maybe at the nurses station? That's where they would have kept-"

"Anna?" Elsa called out.

"What is it?" Anna asked as she poked her head from around the corner and found Elsa. "Find something?"

"Possibly. Look at these," Elsa pointed out the footprints.

"Hmm," Anna murmured as she knelt down next to Elsa and touched her finger to the ground. "These are not that old, but who else could have been here? This place is empty."

"I don't know," Elsa replied. "But it's troubling. These don't look like ordinary human feet."

"They don't," Anna agreed as she followed the direction of the tracks towards the darkened stairwell, which she then approached and looked down. "They lead here, but how in the hell could they have climbed up? And why didn't we see any tracks anywhere else?"

As if in response, the wind moaned low and hollowly up the stairwell, sending a shiver down Elsa's spine. Suddenly overcome by a bad feeling, she straightened up and scanned the rooms and corridors of the ICU behind them, feeling as if they were being watched. All the way at the far end, by the elevators where they had come from, Elsa thought she spotted a small, humanoid figure observing from them silently in the dim.

Quick as she had seen it, the figure vanished into thin air, leaving Elsa to doubt if she had even seen anything at all.

"Let's keep moving," Elsa said. "I don't wish to linger here any longer than we have to."

Sensing Elsa's unease, Anna nodded firmly and backed away from the stairwell. "Yeah, me neither. Let's find that nurses station."

Together, they explored the rest of the floor until they found the nurses station, sequestered away in a room in the center of the ICU. The flimsy metal door had been bent and pulled open and the interior had been completely ransacked.

"This doesn't look promising," Elsa said as she carefully stepped over bits of junk scattered about.

"Look for a storage unit, a locker or a chest or anything like that," Anna said as she crossed over to the other side of the room. "Detox meds would have been kept close by on hand if they needed them."

As Anna searched one end of the room, Elsa searched the other. As they did, Anna entered a side room off to the side, where Elsa heard her curse loudly to herself.

"Shit, found it!" Anna called out. "But it's all gone. Empty, zilch, nada."

Elsa went over to the side room where Anna had found a tall medicine storage unit with glass doors that had been smashed open. The inside was completely empty, with racks torn out and tossed on the floor and the only remaining things to be found were cracked vials and plastic bags of intravenous fluids that had been punctured and drained.

"That leaves only the pharmacy," Elsa said. "Which is back-"

"All the way back down, yeah," Anna sighed from frustration. "Of course it couldn't be that easy."

Elsa had just opened her mouth to say something when the sound of an object clattering across the ground nearby caught both of their attention. Anna immediately whipped out her weapon while Elsa whirled around, trying to pinpoint the location of the sound.

"Did you hear that?" Elsa asked quietly.

"I did," Anna nodded. "We're not alone."

Withdrawing her own sidearm, Elsa nodded back to Anna and together, they both silently slipped out of the nurses station with their weapons drawn, checking their corners and keeping their eyes and ears open for any trouble. As they performed a methodical sweep, nothing else made a sound and whatever had done it had apparently disappeared.

"I don't see anything, do you?" Anna whispered.

"No," Elsa replied.

"Shit, I don't like this," Anna said as she adjusted her grip on her hand cannon and wiped away a bead of sweat from her brow.

A tense silence settled upon them as they carefully returned to the elevator. Anna kept her eyes glued ahead of them, while Elsa watched their rear, keeping her sidearm raised and ready for anything that could flank them. Once they were back, a flash of movement caught Elsa's eye which was when she saw a pale figure partially emerge from a shadow. It moved on all fours like a beast, then stopped and settled into a low crouch.

The figure appeared to be a human, but was significantly more emaciated looking with thin limbs, a gaunt face, sunken eyes that were jet black, a hairless head, and a body that was dressed in threadbare rags. It's hands and feet were severely mutated, lengthened into sharp claws that looked like they could rend flesh from bone. From their distance, it was hard to tell whether it was male or female, much less if the thing was even a human to begin with.

"Anna!" Elsa whisper-yelled. "Over there, do you see that?"

"See what?" Anna whirled around. "I don't see- what the hell is that?" she immediately took aim with her hand cannon, which caused Elsa to reach out her hand and push it down, urging caution.

"Wait. I don't think it wants to hurt us," Elsa said.

"So why the fuck is it watching us like that?" Anna hissed. "It's creeping me the hell out."

The watcher seemed to hear them as it cocked its head curiously. It lingered a moment longer, then slunk back into the shadows, disappearing from sight. Once the watcher was gone, Anna released a shaky breath while Elsa remained vigilant.

"Let's get back down," Anna said firmly. "The sooner we find these meds, the sooner we can get out of this place."

"Yes," Elsa agreed. "I think we've overstayed our welcome."

With that, Elsa and Anna returned to the elevator car. Just as Elsa was about to leap up through the hatch first to assist Anna, something large and heavy crashed into the top, violently jostling the entire elevator.

"Jesus, what the fuck was that!" Anna exclaimed as she flinched from the sudden impact and braced herself against a wall.

A low and guttural clicking noise then began to echo up and down the elevator shaft, which was soon joined by a chorus of others. The watcher evidently wasn't alone and was communicating with its other, unseen associates. Another object crashed into the top of the elevator, causing it to suddenly lurch and drop downwards where it became stuck again. The hatch above them slammed shut from the impact and afterwards, everything was quiet and still for a moment.

"You sure they aren't trying to hurt us?!" Anna said. "Because it sure fucking seems that way!"

The silence was pierced again when a third object dropped and smacked into the top of their elevator. Anna flinched again and ducked, while Elsa planted her feet firmly against the floor and reached her arms out for balance when she heard the entire thing groan and shift. Finally, the emergency brakes on the elevator gave out as it buckled beneath the weight before snapping completely. A rush of air came up around them while metal screeched upon metal and sparks flew in random directions as they began to plummet to the bottom.

"Anna!" Elsa cried out.

With only a split-second to react, Elsa rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Anna, clutching her tight against her own body then dropping down on her back to the floor to shield her from the imminent impact. It was not a moment too soon as another second later, their elevator car came crashing down upon the rubble at the bottom of the shaft. The impact of which Elsa took completely, absorbing the blow from their acceleration to their sudden stop.

Dust showered them from above, while the echoes of their collision rung up and down the shaft. Elsa waited until all was silent again, then immediately looked down at Anna who was clutching her own body just as tightly while her head was firmly buried against her chest. Were it not for their current predicament, Elsa would have been content to lie there like that for a while. So close were they to each other that Elsa could feel Anna's chest heaving up and down to catch her breath and even her heart pounding within.

"Anna? Are you alright?" Elsa asked.

"Mmmhmm, super," came Anna's muffled reply. "You?" she asked as she pushed herself up so that her own face was hovering slightly above Elsa's, only inches apart.

Elsa swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded. "I'm okay," she said shakily.

They both stayed like that for a second, staring into each other's eyes as they caught their breath. For a moment, neither of them spoke and it seemed as if Anna couldn't decide where to look as her gaze flitted back and forth Elsa's own eyes and her lips. What she was searching for, Elsa didn't know, but she certainly didn't mind waiting until Anna found whatever it was. Their proximity to each other was stirring something within Elsa's heart, making it do somersaults while her thoughts became scattered and incoherent. Most pressing of all however was the bud of warmth growing between her thighs which Elsa recognized as arousal, a sensation she had felt earlier when she thought of Anna in the shower.

"Guess that's one way to take the elevator, huh?" Anna chuckled, then frowned when she remembered the situation they were in.

She loosened her hold on Elsa and pushed herself up slightly, examining the wreck around them. Below, Elsa reluctantly released Anna, who then pushed herself to her feet and offered her own hand to help Elsa rise, which she gladly accepted.

"What the hell were those things anyway? From the sound of it, there was definitely more than one and I've never seen anything like them," Anna said quietly.

The watchers in question had fallen silent, though that did not mean that Elsa and Anna were safe. They ignited the flashlights of their omni-pads and examined their surroundings, pointing it up and around the ruined interior of the elevator car. The walls had buckled in on themselves and the roof was bent inwards. It was a miracle that the floor they were lying on remained intact, however they were now underground. They had landed between sublevel A and B, meaning they would have to squeeze through a gap of the upper half of their elevator in order to exit.

"Whatever they are, they clearly don't want us here," Elsa replied as she approached the gap and pointed her flashlight outwards, scanning for any potential threats. "There's no way we can get back up now. The only way is forward."

Anna shook her head and sighed deeply. "Hooray," she replied listlessly as she picked up her fallen hand cannon.

After climbing out of the ruined elevator, Elsa and Anna found themselves in a wide underground corridor, which stretched off in either direction to their sides. The walls around them were poured concrete, cracked with age and damaged in some parts while the smooth floor they stood upon held three lines racing down the corridors in different directions. On a wall directly ahead, a sign indicated which each colored line led to and a map outlined the floor plan of sublevel A.

"Look at this," Anna said as she pointed her light on the sign. "Blue, red, yellow. The colors correspond with each location they lead to."

"Red goes to the pharmacy, blue leads to the morgue, and yellow to the loading dock," Elsa murmured as she read the sign and committed the map to memory.

To their left, the red line stretched away alone while to their right, the blue and yellow lines raced off further into the darkness together. From the map, it showed that all three locations were connected to one another through side passages which they could use if need be.

"Saves us some trouble," Anna said as she knelt down and took a closer look at the red line. "But why do I get the feeling it won't be this simple?"

"We should be cautious," Elsa replied as she went and stood next to Anna. "We aren't alone anymore."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Anna said as she readied her hand cannon. "Well, let's go and say hello."

The pair made their way off, following the red line on the concrete floor as they slowly crept down the underground corridors. Every noise they made was amplified, as even their breathing echoed ahead of them, piercing the darkness and the silence that had permeated the cavernous spaces around them. Before long, that guttural clicking sound the watchers made began to follow them, though with the low visibility and the echoing effect that the corridors had, it was difficult to pinpoint their location.

A chill crept down Elsa's spine, both from the unsettling sound of their unseen pursuers and the fact that the further they went, the colder the air became. Elsa glanced over to Anna and noticed that she was similarly distressed, as beads of sweat rolled down her forehead and her breath came in short and shallow. After rounding a corner, they came upon a set of metal double doors, where a flash of movement and a loud bang caused Anna to shriek from terror and leap towards Elsa, clutching her tight around her arm.

Just ahead, off to the side of the double doors was a lone watcher that had overturned a garbage can and had evidently been responsible for causing the noise as it rummaged through the rubbish. Elsa aimed her sidearm and pointed her light at it, causing the watcher to turn towards them and unhinge its gaping maw to release a low growl and a series of warning clicks. Before she could shoot, the watcher bolted away, climbing up a nearby wall where it crawled inside an open vent cover. It stayed there a second longer, cocking its head and watching Elsa and Anna with eerie focus before it disappeared.

"Christ, those things are goddamn creepy," Anna whispered at Elsa's side.

Elsa could still feel Anna's fearful deathgrip around her arm, though she didn't mind.

"What was it even doing?" Anna asked.

"Scrounging, perhaps," Elsa sighed, though she remained tense and stiff from the encounter. "Much like we are."

Anna shivered at her side, then finally let go of Elsa to regain her composure. "I've officially had it with this place. I'd take mutated wolves over those fucking things any day."

Elsa felt the same and urged on by the shared sense of disdain, they hurried along until they reached the thick metal security doors. There were no handles on the smooth surface of the doors, but there was a terminal off to the side that controlled them. At a cursory glance, it was easy to see that the doors required power to open, of which there was currently none.

"Crap," Anna muttered as she approached the door and kicked it with her foot. "We're gonna need a bazooka to get in."

Meanwhile, Elsa tried the terminal, but to no avail. It was useless without power and no amount of kicking or fiddling around with it would cause the doors to open. Next, Elsa went over to the seam in between the doors and tried to wedge her fingers in to force them apart using her enhanced strength, which didn't work either. The doors were simply too thick and too heavy to be moved.

"No use," Elsa panted from the exertion. "These doors won't open without the power running."

"So what? We have to find a way to turn it on?" Anna asked.

"That, or go around. There's a route through the morgue that leads to the pharmacy."

"Are you serious? We have to go through the morgue?"

"I see no other way to get inside."

"Great," Anna tossed her hands up in frustration. "This just keeps getting better and better."

Backtracking down the way they came, Elsa and Anna returned to the elevator and passed onward. All the while, they would hear occasional clicks from the watchers as they communicated with each other in their bizarre language. The blue and yellow lines they were following soon began to decline along with the floor, descending down a gentle slope which then led into a pool of murky water that came up just below their knees.

Elsa and Anna paused at the water's edge, shining their flashlights ahead of them as they arrived at the entrance to the morgue. Before them, the air was noticeably thick with the nauseating scent of ancient decay with a caustic note of industrial rot.

"Flooded," Elsa said dryly. "This water must have come from the river."

"And it stinks down here, of course," Anna sighed. "We better put our masks on."

They swapped out their filters for fresh ones to appropriately equip themselves.

Anna frowned beneath her respirator as she turned towards Elsa. "I can't see the lines anymore, how do we know which way to go?"

"The map," Elsa replied. "I remember, the way through is at the other end of the morgue."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright, I'm following you," Anna replied. "Lead the way, I'll watch our backs."

Elsa nodded then turned back towards the morgue and began wading through the knee high waters. The morgue was a wide space, with a central path that lay between orderly rows of examination tables. On either side, lining the walls end to end were refrigerated storage units for corpses, standing three units tall and evidently overfilling with the dead. Body bags filled with misshapen and lumpy skeletal remains were piled high on the floor against the walls and in corners, with some reaching all the way to the ceiling.

"Jesus," Anna muttered from behind Elsa. "You can still smell it through the-" she gagged and coughed several times. "Can still smell it through the mask," she finally managed once she pushed down the bile in her throat. "I don't even want to think about what we're wading through right now."

"Try and think of something else," Elsa said, trying to be helpful though she was similarly disturbed by the sheer amount of corpses. "Something that makes you happy."

"Like the time this morning, when I didn't think I'd be walking through knee high water, inside a flooded morgue, beneath a creepy old hospital, followed by god knows- shit, what was that!"

"Anna!" Elsa called out as she immediately turned around. "What is it?"

Behind her, Anna's eyes were bulging with horror as she panted heavily, aiming her hand cannon and flashlight in random spots in the darkness. "I- I- I thought I saw another one of those things… fuck!"

"We're almost through, Anna," Elsa said as she reached her hand out. "Come on, it's not far now."

Anna's gaze settled upon Elsa and she visibly relaxed somewhat, though she still kept a white-knuckle grip on her hand cannon. "Okay, let's just go," she said as she grabbed Elsa's hand. "We can do this… I can do this, I can. Just gotta keep calm… I can do this," she mumbled to herself as they continued their trek through the morgue.

Before long, the ground began to slope upwards again and they rounded a bend, where they found the red line again as well as the yellow that stretched towards a fork in their path. Somewhere behind them, Elsa heard a rapid sloshing of water, indicating that something was moving around. Anna had heard it as well and when she pointed her flashlight behind them to see what it was, they spotted a horde of watchers tailing them. As soon as Anna's light found them, they immediately let loose a bone-chilling howl that devolved into a rapid series of clicks and growls.

Anna nearly tripped from fright. "Holy shi-"

"Anna, run!" Elsa shouted as she dragged Anna by her hand and pushed her forward so that she was ahead of herself. "Just run!"

The watchers started to give chase and Anna responded by firing off three shots with her hand cannon as she ran. Each shot found their mark in a watcher which stopped them in their tracks, but there were still far too many to count and so, Anna abandoned her attempt to stem the tide. They both ran full tilt ahead as they followed the red line towards the pharmacy, though Elsa remained behind Anna as a measure to keep her safe from the watchers chasing after them. The underground passageways that had been overbearingly silent were now filled with the haunting sounds of guttural clicking noises and jaws that opened and snapped shut.

One of them leapt directly at Elsa, though she sensed the incoming attack and turned and shot the watcher dead just in time. Ahead, a rear entrance to the pharmacy came into view as just behind them, the horde of watchers were steadily gaining upon them. Anna reached the doorway first and slid to a stop in front of it where she began to desperately struggle with a latch that kept the metal door shut.

"Come on!" Anna hissed through gritted teeth. "Open up you piece of shit!"

The watchers were right on Elsa's tail now and she could feel the air behind her filled with hot breath and gnashing teeth. She barreled straight towards the door, barely slowing down as she shouted and frantically waved for Anna to clear the way.

"Anna! Move!" Elsa ordered as she tucked her tucked her chin into her chest and raised her leading shoulder, charging ahead straight towards the door.

Anna stepped aside just in time and in the same movement, she shot another three watchers dead until her hand cannon clicked empty. Elsa on the other hand barreled straight into the door, bursting through it with concussive force and bending it out of shape. Anna stepped in immediately after Elsa and together, they threw themselves against the metal door to brace it as a second later, a wave of watchers crashed into it.

"Find something to block the door!" Elsa shouted as she pushed her back against the door and dug in her feet. "Hurry!"

"Okay, okay! Just hold on!" Anna replied as she darted away into the pharmacy.

Even with her enhanced strength, Elsa struggled against the sheer tide of watchers slamming themselves against the opposite side of the door. One of them managed to reach their arm through the gap which then began to swipe around in an attempt to hit Elsa. She responded by throwing her full weight against the door, which slammed against the protruding arm and snapped it like a twig. The watcher screeched in pain and attempted to withdraw the useless limb that had a splintered bone protruding from it. Elsa redoubled her effort and managed to slam the door shut, severing the arm completely. Thick, black blood spurted out from the limb that flailed around on the floor by Elsa's feet.

"Elsa!" Anna cried out as she toppled a nearby shelf, spilling its contents and shoving it over the ground towards the door.

Elsa moved aside just enough to allow Anna to slide the shelf into place while keeping her back against the door. The barricaded aided somewhat, but Elsa would still have to remain and push against it to ensure that the watchers stayed out. She quickly adjusted her position to the end of the shelf which afforded her a greater degree of control in keeping the door closed.

"Go, find those meds!" Elsa exclaimed as she dug in her heels once more. "This won't hold them forever!"

"What about you?!" Anna asked in a panicked voice.

"I'll hold them back, now _go_!"

Without further delay, Anna nodded shakily then retreated back into the pharmacy to locate the meds they needed. As Elsa turned her attention to managing the barricade once more, she could hear snarling, growling, and clicking just on the other side. Above the din however, she could also make out the sounds that Anna was making as she leapt over the counter to loot the storage units that contained the restricted drugs.

As Anna continued her frantic search, Elsa gritted her teeth and pushed with all her might against the door which by now was beginning to bend and twist out of shape. From the top corner, two watchers poked their head through the new gap and hissed at Elsa, after which they were immediately shot dead by her sidearm.

"Hurry, Anna!" Elsa shouted.

At the other end, Anna constantly muttered and swore to herself as she ripped out boxes, vials, and bottles of various drugs. She pulled down bins and emptied their contents on the floor, she swiped her arms over shelves, and she knocked over whole racks and displays until she eventually found the Detoxicillin they had risked so much for. They were kept in a cooled glass containment unit which Anna smashed open using the grip of her hand cannon before reaching in to snatch up their prize.

"Yes! Got it!" Anna exclaimed as she tucked the vial of meds and it's injector safely away inside the inner pocket of her long-coat. "Elsa! I got it, let's go!" she yelled as she raced back to Elsa's position.

"There's a way out, through the loading dock!" Elsa strained as she adjusted her stance to face Anna. "Other end of the pharmacy!"

"What the hell are we waiting for then?!" Anna exclaimed as she swung out the cylinder of her hand cannon to eject the spent rounds before inserting new ones with her speedloader. "Let's move!" she said as she snapped the cylinder shut with a flick of her wrist.

Elsa took a moment to steel herself, then with a deep breath, she leapt away from the barricade and broke into a sprint. Behind her, the barricade shifted and the door slid part of the way open and bent further down, allowing a small group of watchers to climb through.

"Get fucked, you spooky fucks!" Anna screamed as she fell in step behind Elsa and shot two of the watchers dead, blasting their heads apart with practiced lethality. "Fuck you!"

Together, Elsa and Anna ran down the length of the pharmacy towards the loading dock, coming out into another wide corridor that was empty. They could hear the door being battered against until it burst open completely and the horde of watchers cried out in pursuit.

"Keep running, Anna!" Elsa panted as she ran.

"What do you… think… I'm doing!" Anna replied breathlessly.

They turned around a bend and found the loading dock, which was a large open space filled with shipping containers and crates. At the far end, they could see two tall rolling shutter doors, one of which was partially open at the bottom. The space was barely enough to squeeze through, but daylight was visible on the other side which gave Elsa and Anna an extra burst of speed.

"Almost there!" Elsa shouted.

"Just a little further!" Anna panted. "We're so clo- agh!" she yelped just as a watcher collided into her from behind, knocking her to the ground.

Elsa spun around immediately and found Anna who was lying on her stomach and desperately clawing on her hands and knees to reach her hand cannon that had fallen from her grasp. The watcher that had tackled her had its wiry arms wrapped around her legs, dragging her backwards while clicking relentlessly. Just behind the two, the remaining horde of the watchers were crashing down upon them like a tidal wave and within seconds, Anna would be overwhelmed.

"Shit, it's got me!" Anna screamed as she turned around and attempted to kick the watcher off of her. "Get off! Get… _off_!"

"Anna!" Elsa yelled out in alarm as she raced to her rescue.

She ran full speed back towards Anna. Once there, Elsa struck out with her foot and kicked the watcher off of Anna which sent it flying backwards. Below, Anna scrambled forwards to retrieve her hand cannon then fired randomly into the crowd behind them. Elsa then hoisted Anna up to her feet and together, they set off at a dead sprint once more.

They passed between a line of crates where Elsa paused to topple one over behind them, blocking the way and slowing the pursuit of the watchers. Sensing that they were about to lose their prey, the watchers hissed and clicked and growled angrily as they climbed up and over the blockade. The watchers gnashed their teeth together and snapped their maws open and closed repeatedly, crying out for their quarry as they hunted them down.

The pair finally reached the small gap beneath the rolling shutter door and were mere inches away from salvation. Anna dipped into a slide and passed easily beneath, while Elsa dove into a roll and came out on the other side safe and sound. With barely a moment to catch their breath, they pushed themselves to their feet and ran ahead up a sloped ramp and emerged back out into the tent city of the parking lot.

Elsa shot a glance over her shoulder just in time to see the roiling mass of watchers pursuing them collided into the shutter door, causing a large dent while a few of them crawled beneath the gap. However, as soon as they stepped out into daylight, they hissed and pawed at their skin as if they had been burned, then retreated back into the darkness. Elsa and Anna kept running until they were well beyond sight of the watchers and no longer within earshot of their clicking.

Finally safe and out of the bowels of the hospital, Elsa and Anna stopped to catch their breath once they crossed through the familiar checkpoint they had entered from.

"They can't stand the sunlight," Elsa muttered as she turned her gaze up to the sky.

"Good thing… for us then," Anna wheezed as she bent over to catch her breath. "Holy shit… that… was close."

"Yes," Elsa nodded as she smiled at Anna, relieved beyond measure that they had made it out in one piece. "But we made it."

"We did… we sure did," Anna replied. "Just need to catch my… goddamn breath!"

Elsa's breathing was already back under control, so she turned her attention to the surroundings to be alert for any other trouble. When none came and after Anna regained her composure, she reached into the inner pocket of her long-coat and withdrew the valuable meds they had sought out to acquire.

"Oh, thank fuck!" Anna sighed as she held the small vial of dark blue liquid out in the light. "Still got it."

"Will that be enough for both of us?" Elsa frowned as she took note of how small the vial was.

"It was all they had."

"Then it'll have to do."

"We'll make it work," Anna huffed and smiled thinly. "Now… if it's all the same to you, I would very much like to leave this place. I hope I never have to see another one of those things as long as I live. I swear, I'm gonna have nightmares after this."

Elsa nodded her agreement and together, they set off down the road once more, now prepared to face the next portion of their journey.


	25. House of Wolves

* * *

"Seriously, I can't wrap my head around it," Anna said to Elsa as she replayed their encounter with the watchers in the hospital in her mind. "Those things, I mean… were they human once? Because they kinda looked human, but sure as hell didn't act like it. I don't know… what do you think Elsa?"

After their escape from the hospital, Anna and Elsa resumed their travels and set out on foot. They were heading towards a bridge which they hoped was still standing so that they could cross over to the western banks of the Hudson. They passed through a long tract of suburbs and small neighborhoods that had once been nestled within wooded areas and grassy fields but were now left barren. The houses that remained standing were empty shells, collapsed on themselves or burnt to blackened cinders.

It was shortly past midday and thankfully after their frantic escape from the hospital, their journey so far had been quiet and almost peaceful in a somber sort of way. The bleached and barren bones of civilization they passed through had once been the idyllic image of suburban America; now reduced to ashes and dust with no one left to mourn its passing nor even recall the time that came before.

"They may have very well been human, once, judging from their appearance," Elsa replied as she walked next to Anna. "But the collapse only happened seventy nine years ago. The effects of radiation are apparent but it's still far too soon for their physiology to have become so radically altered. For such extensive mutation to occur, something else must have happened to them, perhaps even sped it along."

"Yeah, but what? If those things were human, what in the world could have changed them like that?"

"I can't say," Elsa shrugged. "A question for another day, I suppose."

Anna sighed. "Those things weren't even the mutants I was expecting to run into. Do you think we'll see any wolves?"

"At this rate, I imagine anything is possible," Elsa replied.

"Heh, yeah… that reminds me," Anna said as she stopped and turned towards Elsa, who stopped and faced her as well. "Back there, I never thanked you for saving me… again, uh… twice."

 _How many times has she saved my life now?_ Anna thought. _Damn, I gotta remember to keep track of it all._

Elsa beamed and smiled brightly at Anna. "You don't have to thank me, Anna, I would never let anything happen to you."

Anna looked away, suddenly feeling a bit ashamed of herself and unworthy of Elsa's unwavering devotion and commitment. She glanced back at Elsa through the corner of her eye and saw that she still wore that pleased smile, which was when Anna's gaze tracked down to her lips and her thoughts returned to when Elsa had cushioned their fall by holding on to Anna. In the moment, Anna had held onto Elsa just as tightly and even long after the danger had passed.

She remembered how close they were to each other at that moment. More than anything else, Anna recalled the steady beat of Elsa's heart within her chest, contrasted with the galloping of her own. Elsa was strong - Anna already knew that - but in her arms she felt safety, comfort, and warmth. Finally, her mind brought her back to the moment that she hovered above Elsa. Their faces were inches apart and close enough that Anna could feel Elsa's breath against her own face. Her eyes were bright despite the darkness and filled with such concern that Anna could never recall anyone who had ever looked at her like that before, save for Nora.

An intrusive thought had entered her mind then and possessed by some hidden urge, Anna briefly entertained the idea of kissing Elsa then and there. It lasted only for a second and after it vanished from Anna's mind, she was left to question where the bizarre yet increasingly appealing notion had come from.

"W- well, ahem," Anna cleared her throat nervously. "Still… thank you."

"You are most welcome," Elsa replied. "It's the least I can do, for everything that you are risking for me. I'm certainly grateful to you as well."

"Look at us," Anna chuckled, attempting to bring some levity to the situation if only to distract herself from her own confusing thoughts wherever Elsa was concerned. "Who would have thought?"

"Mmm," Elsa murmured pleasantly, then turned her focus back to the road.

The dimpled smile lingered on her face and Anna suddenly felt hot despite the cool air around them.

 _My god… I want to kiss that mouth,_ Anna thought, then frowned to the side. _Wait a minute- wait… what? Have you forgotten who she could be? You should be more concerned about that right now Anna._

They both fell silent as Anna and Elsa returned to their thoughts. All the while, the ruins of civilization around them passed by in the selfsame manner it always did, that is to say, unremarkably.

_So what if she's maybe, possibly, potentially… my sister? So what if she was built from Nora's DNA? It's not like they'd be the same person… so technically… it's not that weird, right? Besides, the way this world's been going, we could die at any second! Goddamn it, she's the first person I've cared about in a long time, and she cares about me! I deserve… something, at least._

Anna turned her attention to a burned down school they passed by, thinking of the children that used to go there in a time when the world was still young and less scarred. She herself was deeply scarred, so was Elsa. Life in 2099 was short, brutal, and unfair. Anna had made peace with that fact long ago and resigned herself to her existence that was a daily struggle just to survive. She couldn't remember the last time she felt happy or hopeful, but when she thought of Elsa, she saw the potential to. And that alone was enough.

_She saved my life, I saved hers. We keep doing that and it can't all be for nothing. Maybe after everything… we could go away somewhere. Off this planet, away from all this bullshit. We could stick together._

It was the first time that Anna thought that far ahead into the future, for she often primarily focused on her issues in the present and dealt with things as they came up. However, Elsa presented a unique opportunity to begin again, to start anew. Once they restored Elsa's memories, it was obvious that they could not stay in New York. Anna still had the three-and-a-half million credits she received as payment for finding Elsa and that was more than enough to charter a ship off-world and leave Earth for good.

They had a chance to try again, to be different people, and together they might even heal from their scars. Anna had shared a similar dream long ago with Nora, one that she didn't think she could ever have again until she met Elsa.

 _I'll bring it up with Elsa, soon as we fix her mind,_ Anna thought with a small smile as she found her resolve. _After that, we'll figure out what to do… together._

… … …

On the road, they stopped by a gas station to rest their feet for a while and eat lunch. Anna once again offered Elsa some food, but she refused claiming that she wouldn't have to eat again until the next day. Anna didn't have cause to worry about their stores of food yet, for between them both they carried enough supplies along with whatever they could find along the way. With that in mind, Anna had a modest lunch consisting of a sleeve of baked vegetable crisps, synth-jerky, and washed it all down with a drink of water. All the while, Elsa meditated in silence a short distance away, still within eyesight and earshot of each other just in case.

By the late afternoon, Anna and Elsa arrived at the bridge which spanned the width of the Hudson river. At the base of the bridge on the eastern side where they currently were was another tent city. It was similar to the one at the hospital though considerably larger and it served as a refugee center and military checkpoint. There, the road heading into the city was completely clogged with old cars while the road heading out was largely empty. A perimeter had been formed around the refugee camp, consisting of barricades, watch towers, and vehicles like tanks and armored personnel carriers which were now all abandoned. The entire site was empty and bereft of any people or creatures, leaving behind plentiful remnants of the past which evidenced towards a hasty evacuation.

As they drew closer to the refugee camp, Anna's geiger counter began ticking sporadically before it evened out into a steady rhythm. It was also then that the air around them became noticeably thicker and hazy as if it was trapped in a heat wave.

"Geiger counter's going off, " Anna muttered as she withdrew the device from her bag. "Hmm… zero point zero four rads per minute," she said as she observed the readout on the presence of radiation in the area, then shook her head. "Not great, not terrible."

Elsa peered up to the sky with her face scrunched up in thought. "Zero point zero four rads per minute equates to an absorption rate of… two point seven rads per hour. Still within safe thresholds, though I imagine that absorption rate will increase the further we go."

"You just… did that in your head?"

"Yes."

"Uh… huh. What's a million times a bazillion?" Anna asked.

"A bazillion isn't a real number."

"You're right, that's on me. What's… four thousand three hundred and fifty nine times seven thousand two hundred and eighteen?"

Elsa looked away for a moment. "Thirty two million, seven hundred sixty two thousand, five hundred and two," she replied with a smile.

"Okay, I won't even fact check you. I'm just gonna assume that's right," Anna said as she made a dismissive gesture with her hands, pretending not to be impressed by Elsa's mental faculties. "Do you have K's booster shots?"

"I do," Elsa said as she retrieved the items from her bag and held them both in one hand towards Anna.

"Alright," Anna sighed. "Let's get this over with."

Anna took one of the injectors then peered at the liquid disdainfully. Then, she rolled up her left sleeve after which she uncapped the needle, took a deep breath, and jabbed the injector into the inside of her wrist before depressing the plunger all the way down. For a moment, her vision became blurry and she felt nauseous as she opened and shut her eyes repeatedly in an attempt to gather her senses.

Across from Anna, Elsa grimaced slightly as she did the same.

"Whew," Anna released her breath once the feeling passed and tossed the now useless injector over her shoulder. "That was unpleasant. How do you feel?"

"Slightly tingly," Elsa replied as she flexed her forearm by opening and closing her fist. "Yourself?"

"Kinda dizzy, guess that means it worked."

"Let's hope so."

Anna nodded and made to step forward before she stopped in her tracks. "Ah, crap. Can't forget our masks," she said as she reached into her bag to retrieve her respirator.

They stood in the middle of the road, swapping out the filters and once they were finished, they donned their masks. Now properly equipped to face the radiation ahead, Anna and Elsa set out once again. It was a short walk to the entrance to the refugee camp, which was surrounded by a chain link fence topped with rusty razor wire. The gate to the camp was flanked on either side by watchtowers and off to the side an abandoned tank stood sentry, aiming its main cannon towards the traffic standstill from behind a wall of sandbags.

"Woah," Anna muttered as they passed by the tank. "They were packing some serious heat here."

"It looks like they left much of their equipment here," Elsa replied as she scanned their surroundings. "Perhaps we'll be able to find something of use."

"Not a bad idea, we should take a look around," Anna said as they passed through a gate flanked on either side by watchtowers that stood wide open.

"There's a lot of ground to cover. Should we split up?"

Anna glanced over to Elsa, feeling reluctant to part company with her for even a moment, but she agreed nonetheless. "Yeah, okay, just… don't go too far okay?"

"Okay," Elsa nodded.

With that, the two set off in different directions though each of them ensured to remain within earshot in case anything happened. Anna and Elsa then began to pick their way through the tent city methodically, searching for anything of use. There wasn't much left, having been picked away by time or scavvers but what they were able to turn up still proved useful.

In a large tent that served as a canteen, Anna rooted around through some crates, tossing out damaged tins of food until she found one that was still in good condition. The label on it was partially ripped off, but from what Anna could read the contents must have been some kind of fruit.

In a triage tent, Elsa was able to find a vial of antibiotics amidst a myriad of medical equipment that had been tossed all over. She held the small glass container up to the light to read the faded label, then nodded to herself in satisfaction as such a thing would certainly be helpful to have before she put it away in her bag.

Anna walked out of the canteen and gazed around the tent city until she spotted a head of white hair a small distance away, emerging from the triage tent. Elsa smiled as she sighted Anna, who returned a grin as they reconvened.

"Find anything?" Anna asked.

"Yes, some antibiotics," Elsa replied. "How did you get on?"

"I found this can of fruit. Peaches, I think," Anna said as she slung her bag to her side and retrieved the can to show it to Elsa. "Kinda feels a little lame compared to what you found though."

"Hmm. A good find nonetheless. Shall we continue?"

"Yep."

Again, they split apart as they searched through the tent city though they never strayed far from each other and always remained in sight. A little while later, after they combed through the whole refugee camp they came upon the far end, where a sort of vehicle maintenance bay had been built. As they approached, Anna sighted a large mass ahead of them, covered in a thick olive green tarp.

"This looks interesting. What have we got here?" Anna asked as she approached the tarp.

With a fluid movement, she yanked it off and tossed it aside, revealing an old electric powered pickup truck that was still in serviceable condition. Even though it was a bit antiquated for their time, electric vehicles were once widely used around the world before the advent of the skycar. Since then, they have been largely phased out though there are still those who prefer to drive the old fashioned way.

"No way!" Anna pumped her fist as she took a step back to take in its full view.

"A vehicle of some kind?" Elsa said as she walked around the electric truck, examining its current state of repair. "I've never seen its kind before."

"It's, ah… one of those old electric powered trucks that people rode around in before the skycar came along. Man, I didn't think I'd ever see one of these," Anna said as she stepped up to the driver's side and peered in through the window. "I think this thing could still run!"

"You know how to drive it?" Elsa asked from the other side.

"Well… no, but I figure if I can fly a skycar, this can't be much different, right? How hard could it possibly be?"

Elsa came around to the front where she popped the hood to examine the inner workings beneath while Anna went to the flatbed compartment in the back. She stepped up onto the wheel and examined the contents stored in the back; finding a box of road flares, a large oil drum, some dirty old rags, and a long metal container. She climbed in and lightly tapped the oil drum with her foot, finding that it was still half filled with pungent fuel.

Next, she turned her attention to the metal container which was kept shut with an old, rusty padlock. Anna withdrew her hand cannon and butted the padlock with the grip of her weapon until it came loose, then tossed the useless thing aside. She then opened the container and found a double barrel shotgun that had been heavily modified to allow it to fire incendiary buckshot.

"Oh… well, hello there," Anna said to herself as she put away her hand cannon and lifted the shotgun in her hands.

The gunmetal was dull and gray, with all sorts of metal pieces and wires running along the length of the two barrels. The stock was a composite material, with etchings in the grip and stock to provide greater control. Anna opened the breech and found that it was still loaded, then snapped it shut. Afterwards, she tested its sights, aiming it side to side as she became accustomed to the weight and heft of the weapon.

"Awesome," Anna grinned wickedly to herself.

She tucked the shotgun underneath her arm, then noticed a smaller box of shells off to the side. Anna picked up the box, rattled its contents and opened the cover to reveal that it was still half full of buckshot.

"Very awesome," Anna closed the box then climbed over the side and hopped down to rejoin Elsa. "What's it look like up front? Think we can get this thing running again?"

Elsa peeked out from around the hood, then raised an eyebrow when she found Anna with her new weapon. "The integral components look to be in good condition. No sign of corrosion or any other damage. The only thing that seems to be missing is the battery. What did you find?" she asked.

"Oh, an oil drum in the back, a box of road flares," Anna gestured over her shoulder with her thumb. "And this!" she exclaimed as she held out the shotgun towards Elsa.

"This should certainly be helpful," Elsa said as she examined the weapon in Anna's hands. "But you didn't find any batteries?"

"No," Anna shook her head, opening the driver's door where she set down the shotgun and box of shells, then frowned as she placed her hands on her hips. "But there's gotta be some extra batteries around here, right? Let's look around."

Elsa nodded to Anna and again, they split off in different directions as they both explored the large maintenance bay. While Elsa perused various bits and pieces on a shelf, Anna turned her attention to some supply crates at the far end. She approached one at random and lifted the heavy cover off the top, finding nothing but spools of thick wire within. Anna let the cover drop to the ground, then went over to the next crate and repeated the same process.

"See anything?" Anna called out to Elsa.

"No, just some spare parts," Elsa replied. "Hmm. Perhaps I can tune up my servomotors."

"Tune up your what?" Anna asked as she spun around and stared at Elsa.

"My servomotors. They're part of my synthetic muscle fibers."

"I thought you were all, you know… organic. I didn't know you had-"

Elsa remained silent, but Anna could tell from the way her eyes were scrunched that she was grinning unabashedly beneath her mask.

"Oh," Anna stopped herself. "You're being funny again."

Elsa cocked her head at Anna. "I believe the term is messing with you."

"Heh, ha, okay," Anna smirked and giggled a bit. "You actually had me going for a bit there, very funny. You're getting better at that."

"Thank you," Elsa beamed, causing Anna to feel something warm and tingly in her heart.

 _Why the fuck does she have to be so goddamn… cute!_ Anna thought. _She's stupid cute and stupid sexy and stupid beautiful all at once, its not fair!_

They both resumed their search, and after a while, Anna stood before a final, unopened supply crate.

"Let's see what's behind door number three," Anna said to herself enthusiastically as she lifted the cover.

Inside the crate were several, large batteries that looked like they were meant for the truck. Anna breathed a sigh in relief, then frowned when it seemed that all but one of them were damaged and leaking acid. She carefully lifted the last one and inspected it more closely for any other signs of deterioration but found none.

"Elsa! I found it!" Anna called out as she lugged it over to the hood of the truck. "Let's give this thing some juice!"

Elsa joined Anna by her side, then watched as Anna lifted the heavy battery and slotted it into place inside the engine compartment of the truck. Once finished, they slammed the hood shut and stowed their bags and gear in a small storage space behind their seats. Afterward, Anna settled into the driver's seat, while Elsa sat next to her in the passenger seat.

"Okay, let's see here," Anna murmured as she brushed the dust off the dashboard and inspected the various knobs, dials, and switches. "Maybe… this?" she reached towards a button just next to the steering wheel and gave it a press, which did nothing. "No… not that one, maybe this one?" she tried another button just above the first, which also did nothing.

"Anna, do you know what you're doing?" Elsa asked teasingly.

"N- no… not really but just hold on, I can figure this out, just gotta press… this… button?" Anna pushed another button and again, nothing happened.

"Try this one," Elsa suggested as she pointed towards a button by the gear shift.

Anna scoffed. "Elsa come on, it's not just gonna be some random button that you point at, it-"

Elsa said nothing as she reached forward and pressed on the button, which immediately caused the engine to roar to life and the entire dashboard to light up.

"Oh look at that, it works. Heh," Anna chuckled, then glanced over to Elsa who was smiling beneath her respirator again. "Beginner's luck… I- I- I could have done that," she mumbled in an attempt to save face.

Elsa looked away, still smiling while Anna turned her attention to the dashboard which presented all the information that was important to know. Everything from speed, acceleration, to the level of energy remaining in the battery was there. Anna tapped on the energy readout, which showed that the battery she had inserted was three quarters charged, more than enough to get them to their destination and back. Next, she focused on the two pedals by her feet, one of which was the brakes and the other was the acceleration.

Gingerly, Anna tapped her foot on one then the other, the second of which caused the engine to roar, though they still remained in place.

"You have to shift the gears, Anna," Elsa said matter-of-factly.

"Okay, are you gonna do this the whole time?" Anna shot back testily, though she wasn't actually annoyed. "Besides, since when did you become an expert on electric trucks?"

"Just now. There's a manual right here," Elsa replied as she leisurely thumbed through an old plastic booklet.

Anna looked over and rolled her eyes. "Of course," she grumbled. "Does that thing say anything on how to deal with smartasses?"

"It says to listen to them."

"Perfect."

Anna reached down and grabbed the knob, sliding it over to drive which then caused the entire truck to begin slowly rolling forward. She tried the pedals again and braked first, then tapped on the acceleration as she steered out of the maintenance bay. The engine purred in response and for all of five seconds, they slowly coasted ahead until the engine sputtered and died just before the dashboard became dark once more.

"What the- Elsa! Look what you did!" Anna exclaimed.

"What I did?" Elsa shot back. "I haven't done anything."

"You… you and your," Anna made a vague gesture with her hands. "Stupid manual did this."

"Anna."

"Elsa."

"I believe we have to warm up the battery, get the electricity running through the system before we can drive."

"Great. So how do we do that?"

"With a push."

"A push?"

"Yes. Set the gear to neutral, and I'll get out and push from behind while you steer. We should aim to get the truck moving downhill. Once we pick up enough speed, the engine should run."

"Just like that? You're sure?"

"Positive."

"Aye aye, captain," Anna said with a mock salute.

Elsa nodded and opened the door to step out of the truck. Meanwhile, Anna set the gear to neutral, then watched the mirrors as Elsa went around to the back and began to push. The entire truck shifted forward with an unexpected amount of force and began to easily roll forward with a decent amount of speed, reminding Anna of just how strong Elsa was. For several minutes, Anna steered while Elsa pushed and before long, they were out of the refugee camp and ambling down a gentle slope.

"Okay, Elsa, I think here is good!" Anna said loudly as she turned to face her through the rear window. "Why don't you give it a- oof!"

With a mighty shove, Elsa sent the entire truck rushing forward which caused Anna to yelp in surprise as she gripped the steering wheel in her hands. As the slope evened out and the truck reached its maximum speed, Anna restarted the engine which came to life with definitive roar.

"Whoo!" Anna cheered as she opened her door and called out to Elsa, who was walking at a leisurely pace to catch up to the truck. "I think that did it! Great job, Elsa!"

Elsa's eyes lit up as she smiled ear to ear beneath her mask, then she went up the opposite side of the truck and resumed her place next to Anna.

"Here we go," Anna smirked as she shifted the gear to drive. "Hold on to your butt."

Confusion flashed across Elsa's face, but she did as Anna said, grabbing her rear as she settled into her seat. Anna laughed again and didn't even bother to Elsa for she was far too amused to say otherwise.

With no further delay, they sped off down the road and across the bridge, heading north towards their goal.

… … …

Anna and Elsa made excellent progress as they drove to West Point. A journey that would have taken them a whole other day on foot was made much more expedient thanks to the new mode of transportation that they acquired. Yet, though there travel time was now heavily reduced, Anna had to drive more carefully given the condition of the roads. Many obstructions such as abandoned cars and sinkholes had to be navigated around which slowed them down considerably. Still, it was faster and better than walking.

A pleasant silence had settled upon the pair and if it weren't the current state of the road, they would have appeared just like two travelling companions on a road trip. The route they were following took them along the river north, passing through what had once been quaint neighborhoods until signs of civilization became more sparse and they entered the remains of a sprawling forest.

The late afternoon sun had become obscured by a layer of clouds, transforming the empty scablands around them into a bleak and gray portrait of the end of the world. For a long time, the only sound to accompany them was the steady ticking of Anna's geiger counter which gradually increased in pace the further they drove.

Eventually, their route that they had been following for some time abruptly ended on a lonely stretch that was bordered on both sides by the charred remains of the forest. A landslide had completely buried the road, forcing them to stop their truck.

Anna set the gear to park, then frowned as she turned over to Elsa. "Well, there's no way we're getting around that."

Elsa had already brought up the map on her omni-pad and was currently swiping around to locate an alternate route for them. "There's another road we could take here" she pointed it out to Anna. "It passes through… Bear Mountain State Park."

"Huh, Bear Mountain," Anna repeated. "Are there any bears?"

"Not likely. All known species of bears in North America were hunted to extinction in 2032. I'm more concerned about these wolves you spoke of."

"Right, right," Anna and was just about to shift the truck back into drive when an idea had suddenly come to her and she grinned. "Say, Elsa, do you wanna drive for a bit?"

"You want me to drive?" Elsa asked in surprise.

"Yeah, why not? I'll navigate, you drive."

"Sure," Elsa agreed then climbed out of the passenger seat as Anna stepped out.

Once they had switched seats, Anna settled into the passenger seat while Elsa fastened her seatbelt then acquainted herself with the various components and controls. Meanwhile, Anna brought up her map and highlighted their new route, then swept her hand up so that the whole thing was enlarged before them on the dashboard.

Anna leaned over in her seat towards Elsa. "Okay, you know how to drive right?"

"No," Elsa shook her head. "I've never driven anything before."

Anna perked up, excited to teach Elsa something new. "Well, it's pretty simple. For starters, the pedal by your left foot is the brake, and the pedal by your right is the acceleration. Now, when you want to start moving, just keep your foot on the brake, grab the gear shift and move it ahead to the drive position."

Elsa did as she was told, and slowly, the truck moved forward.

"Great stuff," Anna smiled. "Now, turn the wheel all the way to the left there and give her a little oomph."

"Oomph?" Elsa turned to Anna.

"Yeah, just step lightly on the accelerator while turning the wheel, then turn it back to straighten us out."

Proving to be a quick study once more, Elsa performed a slow U-turn, then drove off down the road back in the direction they had come. Elsa grinned unabashedly, while Anna smiled encouragingly. As they drove down the road, Anna continued to tutor Elsa on the basics of driving, who listened intently. After some time of getting acquainted and after some minor hiccups, Elsa was mostly comfortable behind the wheel.

"You're a real smart cookie, aren't you?" Anna set her elbow on the windowsill and leaned on it, gazing at Elsa. "Pick things up quick. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were showing off to me."

"I don't know what you mean," Elsa said with feigned innocence.

"Sometimes I think you might be messing with me on purpose."

"Sometimes... a little bit," Elsa admitted shyly. "In any case, these controls are very intuitive."

Anna chuckled and turned her attention back to the map. "Okay, smartass, turn right here," she said as she pointed to an upcoming intersection.

Elsa did as instructed and turned right onto an isolated side road road that cut westward towards their new heading. Before long, they rejoined an interstate highway that cut northeast through the state park which would lead them to West Point where Gjallarbrú was supposedly hidden. Both sides of the road were sheltered by tall and bare remains of trees that were densely packed together and completely charred. The ashes of their lesser counterparts that did not survive the burn were picked up and tossed about in a mournful wind that blew across the road and gathered in black piles every which way.

The burnt forest brought about an uneasy sense of stillness to their drive and as Anna looked out her window, she couldn't help but wonder what beasts prowled the dead world beyond. Tried as she might to push it out of her mind, Anna couldn't shake the foreboding sense that they were headed into danger. She kept her eyes glued to the tree line for so long, it soon felt as if some of them had sprouted eyes and were watching her in return.

"So," Anna turned to Elsa as a means to distract herself. "We're almost there. What do you think we'll find at Gjallarbrú?"

"Hard to say. I'm not entirely sure we may find anything at all," Elsa admitted. "It's a strange feeling though."

"Strange how?"

"In a way, I'm returning home," Elsa said as she turned to look at Anna. "Or rather, the place of my birth. I'm… actually not certain whether to call Gjallarbrú or VanirCorp my home now that I think about it," she said as she shifted her focus back on to the road.

Anna nodded in understanding for she too felt the same way about her own circumstances. She had been born in Los Angeles, but she had spent a good portion of her life living in New York. She had no strong desire to return to Los Angeles, in just the same way she wished to leave New York. It was at that moment that she realized that whenever she thought of home, she always thought of Nora. Home wasn't any tangible place, but rather it could have been anywhere so long as she was with her sister. Anna had always felt lost in more ways than one, but only just now with Elsa did she come to one understanding about her life.

 _Home,_ Anna thought, and again, she turned her mind to the future and the impossible dream she once shared with Nora and one she hoped to have again with Elsa. _What's that saying? Home is wherever the heart is. Ugh, that's so cliche… but maybe there's a point._

"I kinda get what you mean," Anna said softly.

"You do?" Elsa glanced over.

"Yeah," Anna sighed and rested her head against the window. "Remember how I told you I wasn't born in New York, that I'm originally from LA?"

"Yes, I remember."

"I guess it's sort of the same thing. I don't know which place to call home. I mean… on one hand, I was born in LA, I spent my childhood there. On the other hand, I moved to New York, spent the last thirteen years of my life here, but that doesn't mean I like it. I- its… I don't know, whenever I think of home, I always pictured it with-"

Just then, something flashed along the tree line, stopping Anna mid-sentence as she stiffened up in alarm to peer out the window. It appeared only for a moment, but whatever it was, it was large, and ran on all fours.

"Anna?" Elsa asked, sensing the same unease that Anna was feeling. "What do you see?"

Another flash of movement passed by, this time on Elsa's side which caught her eye. Multiple figures were running alongside them, partially concealed by the burnt trees and easily keeping pace with their truck.

"Uh… Elsa?" Anna murmured as she reached for her hand cannon. "Remember those wolves I told you about?"

As if on cue, a lone wolf burst from the tree line and continued to run parallel with the truck as it howled out. Evidently, that wolf was the alpha and leader of an entire pack for seconds later, a multitude of wolves emerged from the trees and ran alongside them, howling and snarling and snapping their teeth at Anna and Elsa as they undoubtedly smelled a fresh meal inside.

Finally able to get a good look at their pursuers, Anna felt anxious fear twist around inside her gut when she realized the stories of mutated wolves roaming the north had not been exaggerated at all. They were covered in sickly gray fur that was spotted with lesions and radiation burns. Their hackles were raised, exposing large and sharp teeth that looked like they could rend their flesh in seconds but most noticeable of all however was their immense size. It appeared that their exposure to radiation had caused them to mutate into massive creatures with unnatural strength to match their enormity.

The alpha wolf was easily the largest and was just under half the size of the truck, dwarfing both Anna and Elsa by comparison. Unlike the rest of the wolves, the alpha was covered in thick white fur and had blood-red eyes. As for the rest of the pack, they were all smaller than the alpha, though each one of them on their own still posed a dangerous threat.

Slowly, the wolves began to close in on the truck.

"Go… go," Anna muttered breathlessly as the wolves were now pressing dangerously close to the truck. "Go, Elsa, floor it!"

Elsa gripped the steering wheel tighter, then slammed her foot down on the accelerator, racing down the interstate and leaving a trail of dust and ash in their wake. For a moment, it seemed as if they escaped their pursuers until Anna glanced through the rear window. When she saw nothing, she nearly sighed in relief which was when the wolves burst through the haze with demonic speed.

"They're gaining on us," Elsa said flatly as she glanced in the rearview mirror.

"Shit, shit!" Anna cried out. "Can't this thing go any faster?!" she glanced out her window again just in time to see a mass of fur slam into her side of the truck, nearly running them off the road. "Jesus!" she yelled as she flinched from the sudden impact.

The alpha wolf was right outside the window next to Anna now, glaring up at her with hatred and hunger in its eyes while foam dripped from its snarling maw. A second later, another wolf careened into Elsa's side, jostling the entire truck to the side while she struggled to maintain control of the vehicle.

"We have to do something!" Elsa yelled as she corrected their course just in time to avoid a car wreck in the middle of the road. "They're gonna run us off the road!"

Anna looked out her window once more, which was when the alpha wolf snarled and reared its head to the side before bringing it crashing right into the glass. Large cracks appeared and air began to seep into the car. With it came the hot and foul breath of the alpha running alongside the truck.

"Okay," Anna took aim with her hand canon. "Let's give them something to chew on!"

She fired once, sending out a round which shattered the glass and slammed into the alpha wolf's body. The beast howled in pain and retreated somewhat from the truck, though it did not stop running. Before Anna could even blink, another wolf raced up and assumed the alpha's place while it retreated a small distance and tailed the truck from the rear.

Anna didn't have time to aim again, for the two wolves on either side of their truck began to bash into their sides in alternating rounds. Both Anna and Elsa were relentlessly and violently rocked side to side, all the while the howling of the pack outside intensified. The two wolves flanking them backed away for a moment, then dipped their snouts lower as they prepared a simultaneous assault.

Before they could however, Elsa seized the opportunity to break the window at her side using her elbow. She then reached for her sidearm and fired off half a dozen shots at the wolf on her side until it dropped and toppled head over tails dead. Without letting up, she adjusted her aim and began firing at the next closest wolf until her magazine ran empty.

On the other side, Anna waited until the wolf leapt through the air, exposing its underbelly which was when she fired two rounds. The bullets tore up through it's torso and exploded out its back, dropping it to the ground in a heap. At the same moment, another raced up to assume its place where it was met with a single bullet from Anna's hand cannon which took off one of its front legs.

"There's too many of them!" Elsa exclaimed as she reloaded her sidearm one-handed, keeping the other hand firmly on the steering wheel.

Anna risked poking her head out her window for a moment to take aim and fire at the alpha who was still tailing them from the rear, but missed her shot. She squeezed the trigger a few more times until she realized it was empty, then ducked back just in time to narrowly avoid the snapping maw of a wolf that lunged at her from up high. The wolf had nearly taken Anna's head clean off and instead it smashed right into the side of their truck, denting the metal and causing them to nearly swerve off the road as Elsa navigated around a bend.

"Shit that was a close one!" Anna cursed as she reloaded her hand cannon, when she caught sight of another wolf running up a rocky outcropping above them to their side. "Elsa, look out!"

At the peak of the outcropping, the wolf turned and leapt through the air, soaring for several seconds before it landed on the front hood of their truck. The windshield was nearly shattered as large cracks appeared all across its surface, obstructing their vision. The entire truck dipped and rocked about violently, which caused Anna to lose her grip on her hand cannon and drop it just as she finished reloading.

The wolf on the hood gnashed its teeth and began swiping its paws against the glass while pressing its full weight against it until eventually, it was able to break through a small portion and poke its snout in. Anna recoiled back in her seat as far as she could while the wolf in front of her growled and lunged in close enough that she could smell the rotten meat on its breath. The wolf nearly clamped its jaws shut around Anna's throat when suddenly, a rapid barrage of bullets ripped through the air around her.

Elsa emptied the magazine of her sidearm directly into the wolf's head, causing it to howl in pain before it reared back and died, tumbling off the truck and onto the road below. "Behind us!" she cried out in alarm as she glanced in the rearview mirror.

Anna had just managed to wipe the wolf's blood off the faceplate of her respirator when the alpha returned and jumped up into the flatbed compartment in the back. She bent down immediately and retrieved her fallen hand cannon, then spun around and placed a single shot though the rear window directly into the alpha's head, knocking him off once more.

With a few members of their pack slain and the alpha seemingly disposed of, the remaining wolves broke off their attack and pulled back a small distance away from the truck, giving the pair a moment to breathe. Anna counted the remaining rounds she had for her hand cannon, while Elsa punched the cracked glass in front of her then ripped off the windshield so that she could see clearly.

"Looks like they had enough," Anna panted as she turned around in her seat and scanned their surroundings. "I think we did it!"

"No," Elsa shook her head as she glanced in their mirrors. "They're regrouping. We're not out of danger yet."

Exasperated, Anna adjusted her position and looked out the shattered rear window where she spotted the remaining pack converging upon them once more. "Goddamn it!" she hissed as she pounded her fist against her seat.

"What do we do?" Elsa asked.

It was then that Anna remembered the shotgun she had found. "I've got an idea," she said as she unbuckled her seatbelt then reached up to open the sunroof above them.

"Anna, what are you doing!" Elsa asked in bewilderment.

Anna then retrieved the shotgun, dumped all of the shells into her pocket, then stood up in her seat. "I'm gonna keep them off our backs, just keep it steady!"

Elsa's eyes widened in disbelief and concern but she then nodded firmly. Next, Anna placed a foot on the dashboard and then braced her other foot against her seat so she could rise to her full height. Poking up out of the sunroof, Anna set the shotgun stock firmly against her shoulder and scanned her surroundings.

Seconds later, the wolves descended with renewed fury as they spotted Anna completely exposed on the top of the truck. This time however, she was ready for them.

At once, two wolves raced up to the back of the truck and lunged at Anna. Before they could reach her she unleashed a salvo of shells, spewing forth a dazzling shower of sparks and white-hot phosphorus from the end of her double barrels. The incendiary munitions filled the air with a wave of heat, igniting the fur of the two wolves which caused them to burst into flames.

They fell to the ground in a burning heap, howling in pain and rolling on their backs in a desperate attempt to douse themselves but they quickly expired beneath the flames. Around them, the rest of the pack howled in response to this new threat and adjusted their positions to specifically close in on Anna and swarm her all at once.

Meanwhile, Anna opened the breech of her shotgun, ejecting the spent shells before reaching into her pocket and inserting two new ones. She snapped the breech shut and with renewed confidence, she straightened up and took aim once more. One wolf came in from Anna's right, which she killed with extreme prejudice then turned to her left just as another wolf came snarling at her. She dropped that one in the same manner, then dipped low to reload her shotgun again. Temporarily vulnerable, the wolves sensed an opportunity and rushed at Anna, ramming into the sides and causing her to stumble.

"Anna!" Elsa cried out from below

The whole truck suddenly swerved side to side, pushing the two wolves flanking either side away as Elsa attempted to sideswipe them. Elsa succeeded in running one off the road by causing it to slam headfirst into a wrecked car just as they passed by, while the other wolf came around the back and jumped up through the air, intending to land on Anna and tear her to pieces.

Anna was reeling from the impact, but she looked up just in time to spot the wolf coming down upon her. She fired blindly with the shotgun which blasted the wolf's exposed underbelly, causing it to explode into a shower of gore. Anna then recovered and quickly shot at another wolf which was lunging at her.

As she reloaded once more she took a moment to assess their situation and found that though half of the pack by this point had been culled, the rest of the wolves remained committed to their attack. At that same moment, the alpha re-emerged from the cloud of dust and ash that their truck left in its wake and bore down on Anna with murderous intent. It was missing an eye and bleeding profusely from its side where Anna had shot it, but it seemed nonetheless undeterred in its singular focus of devouring the red-haired woman.

"Oh, come on!" Anna shouted in frustration. "You gotta be fucking kidding me!"

Three wolves then came in rushing at Anna from three different directions. She was able to shoot the first two dead with the shotgun, then at the last possible second she swung the butt end of the shotgun out and batted the third wolf aside. Winded, Anna immediately set back to reloading her shotgun but as she ejected the spent shells and reached inside her pocket, she found no more.

The alpha was some distance behind, but gaining on them quickly while the other wolves backed off, seemingly aware of their leader's personal vendetta against Anna. Without a second to lose, Anna glanced at oil drum, the rags, and the box of road flares in front of her, then tossed her shotgun on the floor as she began to put her desperate plan together.

"Fuck this!" Anna cursed.

She quickly climbed up onto the roof of the truck then slid down into the cargo bed. There, she bent down and retrieved the rags and stuffed them through a small hole in the top of the oil drum until they dipped into the black liquid. Next, she picked up a road flare, flicked off the cap, then ignited it by striking the end against the side of the oil drum. The flare burned bright and red in her hands as she held it out threateningly towards the wolves. Perhaps sensing her intention or driven back by a fear of fire, all the wolves save for the alpha retreated a safe distance away from the truck.

Unperturbed, the alpha snarled as it continued to bear down on Anna, advancing upon her with lethal focus and speed. Presented with no further options, Anna kicked down the rear tailgate and held the flare to the rags which served as a crude fuse. Once it was lit, Anna tossed the flare out and knocked over the oil drum which tumbled out and bounced down the road behind them.

At first, nothing happened for a moment as the oil drum rolled and sparked against the ground. Anna thought she was a goner then as she watched the alpha leap over the rolling drum. As if it could sense her imminent defeat, the alpha bared its fangs in a wolven grin as it set in its haunches once more to prepare the delivery of its death blow.

At the last possible second before Anna could feel teeth against her flesh, the oil drum exploded into a massive fireball that completely consumed the alpha. The earth itself seemed to shake behind them as a massive shockwave erupted from the center of the blast, sending the rest of the pack scampering off into the woods as they finally abandoned their assault.

Anna shielded her eyes from the blast and sank to her knees, gazing at the raging inferno behind them as they continued to speed off down the interstate.

"Anna? Anna!" Elsa called out from the front as she spun around. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Anna said breathlessly as she turned back towards Elsa, giving her a weak thumbs-up. "That wolf was fucking-"

Elsa's eyes widened in alarm as her face twisted into a mask of horror. "Anna, behind you. Watch out!"

"Huh?" was all that Anna managed to get out as she spun around and was immediately met with a mass of smoking fur and flesh that descended upon her.

In the short time that Anna had her back turned, the alpha had burst out from the cloud of fire and was upon her within seconds. Anna was knocked onto her back and she slammed head against the metal floor of the cargo bed which left her dazed. Her vision swam before her and the only thing she could see was the hell-beast standing over her, poised to pounce.

She crawled backwards but there was nothing else she could do as in the next instant, the only thing she saw was a gaping maw filled with razor sharp fangs and the putrid stench of decay. She raised her left hand in a feeble attempt to defend herself and the alpha's jaws clamped around her forearm, sinking its teeth deep into her soft flesh.

Anna screamed louder than she had ever screamed in her life as pain erupted from her arm. Blood spurted out and she felt her bones crunch from the strength of the alpha's bite, made even more excruciating as in the next moment, the alpha began to viciously thrash its head side to side, mangling Anna's hand and forearm even further. As overwhelming pain flooded every one of her senses, Anna's mind turned blank, her vision darkened, and she cried out in agony. She was completely defenseless before the alpha and the sole thing she could see was a single eye, burning red like hot coals.

"Anna! Anna!" Elsa was heard shouting over the snarling and ripping and tearing.

The alpha finished toying with Anna and released her hand, ripping off three of her fingers as it did. Afterward, the alpha grinned wolfishly down on her as it growled and bared its fangs. For a moment, Anna's vision returned to normal and she saw the alpha above her rearing its head back with its remaining eye glued to her throat.

 _This is it,_ Anna thought blankly. _This is how it ends._

The next thing she felt were sharp fangs and a powerful jaw that clamped shut around her face. Anna was completely helpless as she ceased her struggling and wished only for a speedy end to her pain. Glass crunched and plastic splintered as the alpha thrashed its head about and tore the respirator mask free from Anna's head. Then, it swiped down angrily with its paws that held sharp nails, opening up wide and deep cuts on her exposed face over her left cheek down towards her ear. The alpha reared up once more and Anna braced herself for the inevitable when at the last possible moment, the truck screeched to a stop which sent it tumbling over the front.

Elsa had slammed on the brakes and as soon as the alpha was off of Anna, she exited the truck and took aim with her sidearm. "Get away from her!" she yelled as she placed the barrel of her sidearm directly against the alpha's head and fired continuously.

Blood, fragments of skull, and wolven brain matter sprayed out the other side of the alpha's head, turning the road into a portrait of gore as the beast finally expired. With a final lengthy howl, the alpha died and slumped over limply.

"Anna?! Oh no," Elsa muttered frantically as she rushed to her aid. "Can you hear me? Anna!"

She sank to her knees by Anna's side and cupped her bloodied face gently, peering down into her eyes which were wild and unfocused. Anna was coughing violently and choking for breath, both from the attack she had sustained and now from the air she was breathing in. Additionally, thick spurts of blood were squirting from her mangled hand and forearm. The bone had been pulverized to dust and deep fissures had been torn open in her flesh.

"M- my… mask," Anna coughed up thick globules of blood as her lungs burned against the poisonous air. "It got… got my mask."

Without a second's hesitation, Elsa ripped off her own respirator mask, then gently raised Anna's head to place it over her face. Anna would have argued against it for it left Elsa with no mask of her own to breathe with, but she couldn't form the words much less summon the strength to protest.

"Hang on, Anna," Elsa said as she carefully scooped Anna's broken body up into her arms. "Just hang in there, please. It's going to be alright."

"E- Elsa… Elsa," Anna muttered weakly as her breath returned to her lungs. "Your mask… you need… n- need it."

"You're more important!" Elsa exclaimed, nearly shouting with hysteria as she placed Anna down in the passenger seat. "I won't let you die," she went around the other side where she climbed in and resumed driving, speeding off down the road. "I won't. Just hold on Anna, please. We're almost there, okay? We're almost there!"

"Elsa," Anna murmured then hacked violently beneath her mask. "El- Elsa… I-"

"Don't speak, Anna, you need to save your energy. Please, it's not far now. Just stay awake, can you do that?"

Anna couldn't reply even if she wanted to since she was rendered delirious from the pain that wracked her entire body. She was nauseous and disoriented to the point that just keeping her eyes open was nearly impossible, not to mention trying to keep her head upright. Her lungs, during their brief exposure to the air, felt as if they had been scorched inside and out, forcing her to draw shallow ragged breaths. Finally, the cuts on her face and torn flesh of her left arm throbbed and pulsated relentlessly with agony.

She was dimly aware of Elsa's voice speaking to her, though by now she was so far gone that she couldn't make sense of anything the white-haired woman was saying. Trying valiantly as she did to heed Elsa's words and stay awake, Anna felt her grip on her consciousness slipping further away by the second. Elsa's voice, usually calm and even, was now frantic and panicked as she began shouting at Anna in a vain attempt to keep her awake.

Not that it mattered anymore, for Anna felt her mind dissolve piece by piece into the blissful oblivion of numbness. With the last dregs of her strength, Anna slowly turned her head to Elsa whose face was contorted with anxious worry.

With that final image before her, she shut her eyes and saw no more.


	26. Crisis Care

* * *

"Anna? Can you hear me?" Elsa asked frantically as she looked over and saw her slumped over in her seat. "No, no! Anna! Please… stay with me!"

Anna had fallen unconscious and from a glance, she looked as if she had been partially chewed up and spat out. Her arm was badly mangled and bleeding heavily, not to mention the fact that three of her fingers were now missing. The vicious attack had only lasted mere seconds, but when Elsa replayed the horrific event in her mind, it felt more like hours.

Elsa feared the worst for a moment, then she reached over to Anna's neck, slick with blood, and searched around with her fingers until she found the pulse point, beating weakly. Anna was still alive, but she wouldn't last much longer without immediate medical care. She was losing blood rapidly and her seat along with much of the interior of the truck was painted with shades of gore that nearly matched the color of her own hair. That, along with the fact that in the few seconds that Anna was maskless in the open air, she had already absorbed a dangerous amount of radiation. Without K's booster shots, she would already be a living corpse on borrowed time.

Ultimately, this meant that if Anna didn't immediately die from the wounds she sustained from the wolf attack, she would surely succumb to radiation poisoning. Both would be terribly slow and painful ways to die, so Elsa had to act fast.

"Hold on, Anna," Elsa spoke aloud, though Anna was no longer able to hear her. "Just hold on, you're going to be okay. I'm gonna fix you, I promise. Just stay with me!"

Elsa kept the accelerator floored the rest of the short way to West Point and she did not slow down until she blew past the entrance to the ruined military academy. She didn't have the slightest idea on where to go and by this point, Elsa was running on desperate protective instinct alone which provided unseen guidance. With each minute that passed, Anna's life slipped further and further away.

As she drove through the academy grounds she looked carefully around at each of the buildings. Many of them had been reduced to rubble, while others stood empty and abandoned, completely exposed to the elements. If Elsa was going to save Anna's life, she would need to find a place that was clean and unexposed to the radiation that plagued the land. She realized that then she had no issues in breathing in the air nor did she feel any other effects from the radiation, which she didn't think to question at the moment.

Elsa glanced over at Anna once more, who had become deathly pale. Despite the mask Elsa had given Anna, her breathing was slow, shallow, and ragged. Unable to look at her any longer, Elsa turned her attention to the academy grounds which was when she finally spotted something promising in the distance. Far ahead, built in what had once been a large and empty field was a tall windowless structure in the shape of a massive cube. The walls were tall and thick, reinforced with lead shielding and a single paved road led up to its center.

Surmising that to be Gjallarbrú, Elsa took her chances and sped towards it, pulling to a stop at the base of the structure where the road abruptly ended. The wall in front of her was seamless, with nothing else to indicate there was anything to find there save for a single camera pointed out towards her. If this place was indeed Gjallarbrú, then it was certainly possible that the facility was still manned by VanirCorp staff. That in turn meant if Elsa entered, she would likely be apprehended and turned over to Matilda. Elsa glanced over to Anna once more, then made her decision. If it meant Anna received the care she needed, Elsa would bargain for her life and trade her own willingly.

Elsa stepped hurriedly out of the truck and went over to the front. There she began her desperate petition for aid as she frantically waved her arms above her head as she spoke.

"I know there's someone in there!" Elsa called out to the camera. "I know this facility is Gjallarbrú. I'm Elsa, Enhanced Learning Systems Android. You made me here, and now I've come back!" she paused for a moment and looked back to Anna, who remained unconscious. "I need your help. My friend is dying and she needs immediate medical care. Please… if you help her, I'll turn myself in. I'll… I'll come home."

Nothing happened for a long moment and Elsa began to fear for Anna's life in earnest as she glanced back to ensure she was still there. The camera on the wall had a single red light that seemed to blink in response to Elsa's petition, then, seconds later, the wall in front of them split down the middle to reveal the entrance to Gjallarbrú.

Elsa immediately returned to the truck and drove in, entering a large chamber that was crisp and overly clinical like so many of the rooms she had been in at VanirCorp. She stopped as the entrance closed shut behind them, then nervously fidgeted until pressurized gas was pumped into the room through large vents in the walls and ceiling. At the same moment, an automated voice spoke out.

_Decontamination in progress._

Several seconds later, the pressurized gas stopped and the decontamination process finished. Elsa gathered their bags, looping one around each of her shoulders before she exited the truck. After, she stepped out she rushed over to Anna's side where she opened the door and gently picked up the unconscious woman, cradling her in her arms. Directly in front, another door opened which allowed Elsa further entry into the facility.

She carried Anna through a narrow hallway, then passed through a checkpoint of sorts. As she entered another chamber, the doors slammed shut on either side and pressurized gas filled the space once more.

_Decontamination in progress._

Elsa nervously fidgeted and glanced down at Anna while she waited, only to find she was still unconscious and dripping blood onto the white flooring. Once the second decontamination process concluded, the doors opened once more, admitting Elsa into a large reception area. There was a semi-circular desk far ahead, but nobody was there to greet her. In fact, it appeared that the entire facility was abandoned as no staff or any other people were anywhere to be seen. It would have been disconcerting and highly suspicious to Elsa given that the power was still on, but at the moment she had greater things to worry about.

She made her way past the reception area, passing beyond the desk where she entered a long corridor that stretched on in a single direction. Elsa quickened her pace and walked along until she reached the end where she entered a massive, circular foyer. Lining the outer edges of the circle were all sorts of doorways with signs above them that indicated which department they led to.

Starting clockwise and directly across from where she stood, Elsa began to read off the signs. "Android research, living quarters, bioscience division, engineering bay, facilities and maintenance… and medical wing!"

As Elsa made her way to the center of the foyer, the lights suddenly shut off, bathing her in complete darkness. Seconds later, blue emergency lights came on and each of the signs above the departments flashed red, indicating that they were locked. All except the doorways to android research and the medical wing flashed red, something which clearly had not happened by accident. Somebody was observing Elsa and that same person had likely also permitted her entry to Gjallarbrú. However, there was still not a soul in sight to be found.

Elsa stopped and glanced side to side. She was standing in the middle of the foyer and from where she was, android research and the medical wing were lying on opposite sides. She knew then that she was being tested somehow and the two doors before her represented a choice she had to make. Would she turn left towards android research to find the answers to her life that she so desperately wanted, or would she turn right and head towards the medical wing to save Anna?

It was hardly even a choice and Elsa immediately turned right, heading towards the medical wing. There she turned down a corridor and passed through a final decontamination chamber before entering a large and vacant space, filled with beds, equipment, and supplies.

"Okay, Anna we made it. We're here," Elsa muttered as she brought Anna over to the nearest bed. "It's alright. I'm gonna fix you, I promise."

After she gingerly set down Anna's body, she removed the respirator mask from her face then set their bags on the floor nearby. As she did, a holo-display appeared at the foot of the bed with the following message.

> _New patient detected. Perform scan?_

Elsa tapped on the display to perform the scan, then stood back as a ring folded out from beneath the bed, which began to slowly run up and down the length of Anna's body. After it passed up and down twice, the ring folded back beneath the bed and the diagnosis report appeared on the display.

> _Patient Summary_
> 
> _Sex: Female_
> 
> _Age: 25_
> 
> _Height: 1.62 meters_
> 
> _Weight: 51 kilograms_
> 
> _Blood type: AB+_
> 
> _Diagnostic report in order of severity._
> 
> _Major compound fractures of the left ulna and radius detected. Major avulsion detected. Major external hemorrhage detected. Inoperable trauma._ _Suggested treatment: emergency amputation of the affected limb required. Cybernetic prosthesis fabricators are operational. Please proceed to the cybernetics lab for a consultation._
> 
> _Moderate radiation poisoning detected. Absorbed dose of 451 rads. Multiple organ failure imminent._ _Suggested treatment: administer 80 milligrams of Detoxicillin, emergency blood transfusion required. Patient is of blood type AB+ and as such qualifies as a universal recipient._
> 
> _Minor lacerations detected._ _Suggested treatment: apply sutures and bandages, administer medi-gel as needed._
> 
> _Warning: vital signs critical._ _Current survival odds: 11.53%_
> 
> _Please consult the surgeon-in-chief for a treatment plan._

As Elsa read the exhaustive laundry list that catalogued each one of Anna's injuries, she balked at the severity of them and then felt ice clench around her heart when she read Anna's predicted odds of survival. Nonetheless, Elsa was determined to save Anna's life and given that the facility appeared to be abandoned judging from the fine layer of dust that covered everything, she would have to do so on her own.

Just before Elsa set to work, she reached up and cupped Anna's bloody cheek. The three parallel cuts there were deep, but they were not the most severe of Anna's injuries. Still, they would likely leave a scar which Anna would carry for the rest of her life, not unlike the scars she already carried in her heart and in her mind. To Elsa, they would serve as a symbol of her failure to protect the woman she had come to care so deeply for. Elsa didn't have time to berate herself and without further delay, she left Anna's side and crossed over to the nearest supply closet where she started gathering all the materials she would require.

First, Elsa had to deal with Anna's arm which required amputation. She loathed to bring Anna to any further harm, but her left forearm and hand had been so badly torn and shredded to pieces from the wolf attack that nothing could be done to save it. To do that, Elsa acquired a surgical plasma cutter, the largest tube of medi-gel she could find, a tourniquet, and a liberal amount of bandage wrappings. The diagnostic report mentioned that cybernetic prosthesis fabricators were available, but Elsa would deal with that later.

Second, Elsa had to address Anna's case of radiation poisoning. An absorbed dose of 451 rads was not the most severe, but it was nothing to scoff at either. If it weren't for K's booster shots, Anna's body would have absorbed much more rads and her organs would be slowly liquefying by the second. Elsa didn't find any extra detox meds, nor did she have time to search for any more so she simply hoped that the amount they already found would be enough. Finally, Anna needed an emergency blood transfusion, so Elsa procured a line of surgical tubing and a set of catheters. Anna's blood type made her a universal recipient, a uniquely rare trait and a miraculous stroke of luck for them both as it allowed Elsa to give Anna her blood.

Third, Elsa had to tend to the cuts on Anna's face. They were the least serious of all Anna's injuries but even so, the state of her arm and the radiation poisoning that compromised her white blood cell count meant that she was highly vulnerable to infection. Thankfully, Elsa had already acquired antibiotics that she could dedicate to Anna's recovery. Elsa found a set of shears and a suturing kit, and with everything she gathered, she placed the supplies on a nearby cart and wheeled them over to Anna.

Using the shears, Elsa started to cut away the fabric of Anna's coat around her left hand and forearm, being careful not to agitate any of the exposed flesh or bone. From the look of it alone, it was easy enough to tell that even if Elsa were somehow able to repair the injury, Anna would never be able to make use of that limb again. The bones were pulverized and the flesh had been torn to ribbons so much so that it was surprising the wolf hadn't severed her hand completely. It did, however, succeed in removing three of Anna's fingers. In fact, the only thing that wasn't damaged was Anna's bracelet which served as the housing unit for her omni-pad.

Elsa gently unclasped the bracelet from Anna's bloody wrist, then set it aside after she finished cutting away the fabric of Anna's long-coat. Once the wound site was clear, Elsa tied the tourniquet around the upper part of Anna's left arm to restrict the blood flow. Then, she picked up the plasma cutter and picked a spot over the wound site, just above the elbow and placed it against her skin.

"I'm so sorry, Anna," Elsa whispered as she prepared herself. "Please… forgive me."

Taking a deep breath, Elsa began to slice through flesh and bone, a mercifully expedient process thanks to the plasma cutter. Starting at an angle, Elsa cut upwards until she reached the humerus bone, then repeated the process on the other side to form a sort of V shape. With the bone now exposed, Elsa sliced through it, then let the severed limb drop inside a wastebasket after which she folded the flesh back together and began to suture it shut.

The hardest part was now over, but Elsa was shaking like a leaf as she finished up. Her hands were covered in Anna's blood and she had to spend several moments hyperventilating as she regained her composure.

 _Get it together,_ Elsa thought. _Keep it together. You can't panic now. Anna needs you._

"Okay," Elsa said shakily. "Okay… that's over with," she sniffed, took a few more breaths then turned her attention back to Anna who remained blissfully unconscious throughout the whole ordeal.

Elsa opened the tube of medi-gel and applied a liberal amount to the stump before wrapping it in thick layers of bandages. Tears had begun to sting Elsa's eyes as she worked and she hated herself every second for allowing such grievous harm to come to Anna as she fought to save her life.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Elsa repeated over and over, struggling to maintain her composure.

With Anna now short of her left hand and much of arm, Elsa turned her attention to the second thing on her list. She went over to Anna's bag, searching through it until she found the detox meds and the injector gun they had acquired from the hospital. Next, Elsa returned to Anna's side where she rolled up the sleeve of her right arm enough to expose the elbow joint. Picking up the vial of the medicine, Elsa affixed it to the injector, then placed it against Anna's skin before depressing the plunger. There was only the one vial, enough for only one of them and Elsa had selflessly used it all on Anna.

 _She's more important than me,_ Elsa thought as she put away the now useless injector and empty vial. _She needs it more than I do. If anything happens to me… I'll find a way to deal with it._

Detoxicillin, as it was known by its technical distinction, was invented in 2025 as a way to combat radiation poisoning which had become a rampant affliction following the events of the collapse. The classified chemical solution would bond with particles of ionizing radiation inside a patient's body, after which it would be purged from their system to counteract the harmful effects of cell destruction. Once administered, the process could take up to a week before a patient would be completely purged, not to mention its own adverse side effects that it brought on.

Those included severe headaches, nausea, vomiting, aches and pains, and high fevers. Compared to a slow death by radiation poisoning however, it was infinitely more tolerable. It was life saving medicine that could completely cure even the most severe cases of radiation poisoning, so long as it was given as soon as possible after exposure. As such, Detoxicillin was highly expensive both to produce and acquire. It was not uncommon for hospitals in New York to turn away patients with severe cases of radiation poisoning, leaving them to a horrible fate simply because they could not afford it.

Now that Anna's worst symptoms had been dealt with, Elsa glanced over to the holo-display and was thrilled to find that her survival odds had significantly improved; rising from 11.53% to 51.24%. They still weren't out of danger yet and the last thing that Elsa had to contend with were the cuts on Anna's face.

Elsa set to work right away and began wiping Anna's face clean with a disinfecting cloth. By now, much of the blood had coagulated and the wounds were bleeding more slowly. After she finished wiping Anna's face clean, she picked up the suturing kit and started to deal with the deep lines carved into Anna's cheek. Somehow, despite being caked in blood and looking as if she were ready to knock at death's door, Anna remained beautiful as ever to Elsa. A realization which only added to the guilt and shame that Elsa felt.

 _This is all my fault,_ Elsa said to herself bitterly as she worked. _If it wasn't for me, Anna wouldn't be in this situation._

In that moment, another far more frightening prospect dawned upon Elsa.

_If Anna lives through this she'll hate me. She'll resent me… and she'll leave me._

There simply wasn't any other scenario that Elsa pictured in which Anna stayed with her and forgave her. Anna had risked life and limb for Elsa to reach Gjallarbrú in search of answers and for that she had paid dearly. She would recover from the radiation poisoning and the cuts on her face would heal, but nothing could replace the limb that she had now lost.

Once each of the cuts on her face had been mended shut by Elsa's skillful hand, she applied a line of medi-gel over top each one, then carefully covered up the cuts with a pad of gauze and bandages.

The only thing left to deal with now was the blood transfusion, so Elsa looked around until she found a chair, then pulled it up alongside Anna. She took a seat, then removed her leather bomber jacket and rolled up the sleeve of her right arm to expose her pale skin. Taking the surgical tubing and catheters in hand, Elsa pierced a vein in her arm and watched as blood began to flow through the tubing as she taped the line to her arm. With it secure, Elsa held the line up, allowing the blood to follow it before reaching over and repeating the process of piercing a vein in Anna's arm to transfer the blood.

"It's going to be okay," Elsa murmured as she watched her own blood flow into Anna. "It's okay now, you're going to be okay."

Now that the ordeal was over, Elsa leaned back in her seat and thought over the events of the day. The escape from the hospital was harrowing enough, but on top of it all was the wolf attack. After Anna was mauled, her mask had been destroyed and Elsa had willingly given up her own. Despite that, she had no issues breathing in the toxic air which she hoped meant that she was unaffected by the radiation. Additionally, the three decontamination chambers they had passed through gave Elsa enough reason to believe that there was little cause for concern. Still, to be sure, Elsa decided that once Anna's condition stabilized, she would perform a scan of herself.

As she sat there in quiet contemplation, Elsa's thoughts turned to the bizarre acts of providence that led to where they were now. The fact that Elsa had been able to find Gjallarbrú, much less gain entry to it, was entirely too convenient. Further still, it appeared that the facility remained fully operational and was still stocked with the exact medical equipment that Elsa needed to save Anna's life, another suspiciously lucky fact. Most disconcerting of all however, was that whoever had allowed Elsa to enter the facility was apparently also testing her.

Access to the rest of the facility had been closed to Elsa, save for the medical wing and android research. Undoubtedly, the answers to the riddle of Elsa's life were contained within the android research sector of Gjallarbrú. Many more questions continued to run through Elsa's mind but she decided she would not think anymore and set them aside for later. Now, the only thing in the world she cared about was the red-haired woman lying unconscious in front of her.

Elsa shuffled her chair closer until she was right next to the bed, then turned towards Anna. Gently, Elsa took hold of Anna's right hand and squeezed it between both of her own. She was exhausted from the events of the day and completely drained from worry. With nothing else to do but wait, Elsa laid her head to rest by Anna's side and shut her eyes.

Yet, she did not sleep a wink at all for fear of Anna's condition.

… … …

Hours later, Elsa opened her eyes and glanced over to the holo-display that monitored Anna's vital signs. A new message had appeared, stating that Anna's condition was now stable and that her survival odds had risen to 87.93%. Elated at this news, Elsa straightened up and rose to her feet, looking down on Anna who had only marginally improved visibly.

Anna's skin was still pale, but her breathing had slightly evened out into steady breaths, though they were still quite ragged. Minimal as the change was, Elsa was now presented with a new set of problems she had to face to aid Anna's recovery. Namely, Elsa had to ensure she avoided infection by administering the antibiotics she had found, followed up routinely swapping out the bandages and cleaning her wounds. Those could wait however so first, Elsa removed the surgical tubing which had been slowly and steadily transferring her blood over to Anna.

She felt slightly woozy as she did, given the amount of blood she had donated but the feeling quickly passed. Next, Elsa had to determine her own state of health since she would not be able to look after Anna if she herself came down with a bout of sickness. Reluctantly, Elsa released her hold on Anna's hand, then took a longing look down upon her. She swept an errant lock of Anna's red hair away from her face, then smiled softly before turning around and walking away.

Elsa approached an empty bed just next to Anna's then gently laid down on top of it. Just like when she set Anna down, a holo-display appeared at the foot of the bed which Elsa interfaced with. Seconds later, the familiar ring appeared and scanned Elsa up and down head to toe twice. When it concluded, Elsa's diagnosis report appeared on the display.

> _Patient Summary_
> 
> _Sex: Female_
> 
> _Age: 25_
> 
> _Height: 1.74 meters_
> 
> _Weight: 56 kilograms_
> 
> _Blood type: O-_
> 
> _No immediate issues detected._

_How can that be?_ Elsa thought as her mind filled with questions once more. _I breathed in the same air that Anna did, for longer than she did in fact. How could I be completely unaffected?_

The answer to that question, along with all the other ones that Elsa had, invariable lay within the android research sector. At the moment, that didn't matter to Elsa though for she was simply relieved for the fact that she could now turn her full attention to Anna without fear for her own health. Deciding not to question their good fortune any further, Elsa slipped off her bed then returned to Anna's side.

If it wasn't for Anna's blood staining the immaculate white flooring of the medical wing, or the fact that she was missing her left hand, or the fact that her face was covered in bandages, Elsa would have thought that she was merely asleep. Hot tears stung Elsa's eyes once more, so she wiped them away hurriedly then went over to her bag to retrieve the antibiotics. Taking them in hand, she prepared the injector then went back to Anna to administer the medicine.

Anna grimaced in her sleep, as if sensing the needle before her expression returned to one of sickly calm. Now that Elsa had tended to Anna with the best of her ability, the only thing to do now was to wait for her to hopefully wake soon. Elsa returned to her seat next, but she found that she was still restless so she immediately stood back up and began to pace back and forth, a habit she had picked up from Anna.

There was one thing left to do, which was to replace Anna's missing hand with a cybernetic prosthesis and since she wasn't conscious to make that decision for herself, Elsa decided for her. First, she unwrapped the bandages around the remaining part of Anna's left arm and was relieved to find that the medi-gel had stopped the cut line from bleeding any further. Next, she went over to the foot of the bed and summoned up the diagnostics report once more, scrolling until she found the section detailing the injury to Anna's left arm.

"Cybernetics lab," Elsa said to herself to reaffirm her decision. "Need to get to the cybernetics lab."

Elsa looked around for a wheelchair that she could use to take Anna there, but she found none. Next, she crouched and examined the sickbed for any wires or cables connecting it to anything and also found none. Thankfully, the entire thing was on wheels which allowed Elsa to easily push Anna along, going as gently as she could while she searched for the cybernetics lab.

For several minutes, Elsa wandered around aimlessly, pushing Anna along through the abandoned medical wing. In her exploration, she came upon a shower room which she made a note of, as well an incinerator to dispose of hazardous waste. Eventually, she came upon the cybernetics lab which lay tucked away in a darkened corner of the medical wing. As she approached, the lights flickered as they were triggered by motion sensors.

There she found various examination tables, as well as a bizarre array of various cybernetic limbs just laying about. At the far end of the lab lay a large piece of equipment which looked like a cross between an MRI machine and a 3D printer with a viewing port. Next to it lay an examination chair surrounded by robotic arms that held various surgical tools. Surmising that to be the fabricator that the diagnosis report mentioned, Elsa wheeled Anna over to it and began fiddling with the controls.

In truth, Elsa wasn't a doctor nor was she any kind of technical expert on the subject of cybernetic implants but even so, whoever had designed the equipment had evidently made the interface very intuitive and user friendly. Such was the kind of providence afforded by bleeding edge medical technology that only megacorporations could have access to. For Elsa, it was yet another stroke of good luck that was entirely too convenient. Still, she thought better than to question it and so, she gently picked up Anna's frail body and set it in the examination chair.

Like before, a holo-display appeared which prompted Elsa to perform a scan of Anna's body, which she initiated. Unlike before, the machinery seemed capable of sensing Anna's injury and focused its scanning rings around her right and left arms, running up and down repeatedly. On the display on the fabricator nearby, a 3D image of a replacement limb began to form, sized and measured to the exact same proportions of Anna's old forearm and hand.

Once finished, a message appeared on the display which stated that fabricator was now ready and prompted Elsa to accept. She did, and at once, tiny mechanical arms appeared from inside the viewport and a 3D printer began to lay down a mold which would form the shape of Anna's new limb. Since the procedure was entirely automated, there was nothing left for Elsa to do but wait, monitor Anna's condition, and oversee the fabrication process. She pulled up a chair and simply sat, watching with idle curiosity at the fabricator carry out its routine, while occasionally checking in on Anna.

Once the mold was finished, a liquid metal alloy was injected to fill it which hardened after several minutes. With the outline of the hand and forearm now complete, even tinier mechanical arms appeared to start laying down the complex inner workings of circuitry and biocomponents. Elsa marvelled at the speed and precision with which the entire automated process worked and she knew that no human hand could ever replicate such results.

After the better part of an hour, Anna's new limb was completed and the viewport opened, allowing Elsa to reach in and grab the prosthesis. She carefully held it with her own two hands, testing its weight and inspecting it closely. The prosthesis was lighter than Elsa expected, but she could tell from the solid construction and inventive engineering that this new limb would be considerably stronger than Anna's old one.

With that, Elsa carried it over to the examination chair where Anna was still sitting, then set the new limb down on a nearby tray. There, she interfaced with the holo-display and initiated the transplantation procedure which brought the various robotic arms to life as they set to work with installing Anna's new limb. Elsa stepped back to observe the procedure, but remained close by out of worry should anything occur. Meanwhile, the robotic arms worked diligently away, whirring and spinning and moving around as they fussed with the new limb and the remaining part of Anna's arm. After a lengthy process, the union of flesh and metal was completed successfully and Anna now had a new cybernetic arm.

The starkness of the gleaming metal complemented the paleness of Anna's skin and where the two joined it was nearly seamless. The prosthesis consisted of three main parts; the elbow joint, the forearm, and the hand. All of it was composed of a corrosion resistant metal alloy which completely covered and sealed the inner workings to protect them. Additionally, the entire thing was connected to Anna's nervous system and equipped with haptic sensors, meaning that her new limb was capable of providing physical and sensory feedback which would feel just like the real thing.

Now that they were finished with the cybernetics lab, Elsa picked up Anna and set her back down on her sickbed before returning to the medical wing.

It was well into the evening now and though the facility was windowless, it seemed that the interior lighting was tuned to the daylight cycle outside and it had dimmed accordingly. For the next several hours, Elsa passed the time by cleaning up the blood around Anna's bed, disposing the gruesome contents of the wastebasket inside an incinerator she found, dutifully monitoring Anna's vital signs, and pacing back and forth.

She had briefly entertained the notion of leaving the medical wing to explore the rest of Gjallarbrú - namely the android research sector - to discover what secrets lay therein but Elsa thought against it. She didn't want to leave Anna out of her sight for even a second. Eventually, Elsa returned to her seat next to Anna where she sat down and adjusted her bed so that she was lying in more of an upright position. Next, Elsa shuffled up as close as she could to Anna.

She was uncharacteristically exhausted, both from the chaotic events of the day and the busywork of keeping Anna alive. So, she decided she would finally get some rest. She leaned forward and laid her head in Anna's lap, holding onto her organic hand while keeping her face pointed towards Anna just in case she awoke from her stupor.

Elsa shut her eyes and was rocked to sleep by the gentle and rhythmic movement of Anna's steady breathing.


	27. To Die, To Sleep

* * *

_Nora? Nora!_

Anna was standing in an idealized version of her apartment that she often visited in her dreams, one in which she and her sister had been able to attain their vision of finding a new home together. Across the way, sitting in an easy chair and staring serenely out the window was Nora. It was snowing outside and pale daylight bled into the apartment. All around them, the scenery was fuzzy and glowing with the incandescence of a brighter imaginary world that existed beyond the realm of possibility.

This dream was different however, for the version of Nora that Anna saw was older and the same age as she was. Nora turned to face Anna, and the pleasant expression on her face vanished into a sorrowful gaze. Her chestnut locks framed her blue eyes which shimmered against the washed out rosy filter that Anna was viewing her dream through.

_I'm sorry, Anna._

_What is it, what's wrong?_

_It's not time yet._

_Not time? What are you talking about? I'm here, I made it._

Anna stepped forward and attempted to cross the distance to Nora but halfway, she struck a shimmering wall of glass that barred her way.

Nora smiled sadly, then rose from her chair and walked over until she was standing in front of Anna. Only a few inches separated them, but to Anna it felt as if Nora was light-years away.

_What is this? Nora?_

_You can't stay._

_No… no no no. I'm staying, I'm not going anywhere without you._

_It'll be okay, Anna, I promise. There's a time for us, but it's not now._

_Wh- why are you saying this to me? Don't leave me again… please._

_She needs you._

_Who?_

Nora turned her gaze out the window and when she did her hair caught the sunlight, causing parts of it to glow as bright and white as snow.

_Elsa… and you need her._

_I- I don't… I don't understand._

_You will. Don't be afraid. I'm closer than you think._

The scenery of her dream collapsed, crumbled apart, and vanished before Anna's eyes, leaving her alone again.

Knowing that she had been merely dreaming once more, Anna took her time coming to wakefulness for the first thing she felt as her senses returned was pain all over her body. Her entire head felt as if it had been sawn open and filled with lead, her face felt puffy and swollen, her lungs felt as if they had been burned, and worst of all it felt like someone had taken a hot poker and jabbed it straight into the upper part of her left arm.

"Uuuuuugh," Anna groaned as she reluctantly opened her eyes.

There was something soft and warm sitting in her lap and when she looked down she couldn't help but smile at the mess of white hair that she found there. Elsa was sleeping peacefully, using Anna's lap as a pillow while she clutched her right hand with both of her own.

 _Oh, well this is nice,_ Anna thought.

She leaned forward and attempted to raise her left hand to stroke Elsa's hair, which was when Anna finally looked down and noticed something drastically different about her body.

"Woah! What… what the fuck!" Anna shouted in panic as she recoiled, knocking Elsa off while she raised her new limb up to her face. "What… how did… why… where did my… _what_!?"

"Anna? Anna! Calm down," Elsa said as she immediately woke and stood up. "Try and relax, you've been through a lot."

"Calm down?!" Anna pushed herself up into a sitting position then waved her hand around in front of Elsa's face, which startled her at how responsive and unnaturally natural the thing felt. "How in the hell am I supposed to calm down?! What happened to my hand!" she demanded, then held her left hand away from her as if it were on fire.

"Anna, please! Just breathe… look at me," Elsa said as she held Anna by her shoulders and looked her dead in the eye.

Anna tried, but her thoughts were racing and her entire body was in pain which made it difficult. She darted her eyes in panic and confusion, while her breath was rapid, shallow, and strained.

"Elsa? What happened? Where are we?!" Anna asked as she scanned their surroundings. "My hand! My arm!"

She shut her eyes and attempted to gather her scattered thoughts, which was when dark and bloody images flashed through her mind. Anna remembered a great white wolf; smoking from fire and stinking from rot. She remembered pain, intense and unrelenting pain from fangs that clamped shut around her forearm. She remembered the awful sensation and sound of her bones being crushed and her flesh being torn. Finally, she remembered seeing only a gaping maw filed with teeth that had closed around her entire head and after that, toxic flames that engulfed her lungs.

"Wolf!" Anna croaked as her eyes snapped open reflexively and she desperately searched her surroundings for any sign of the beast that had maimed her. "There was a wolf, there was a lot of them-" she stopped when she started to wheeze and cough violently.

Anna bent over, hacking and coughing into her right hand as her bout of panicked screaming had wreaked havoc on her throat and her lungs. Each cough felt as if she was dredging up and expelling shards of glass from deep within her body and soon, she hacked up tiny droplets of blood onto her hand.

"Oh, Anna!" Elsa sounded as if she were in a state of panic as well. "I'll explain everything, but please, you must relax first."

After her coughing fit faded away, Anna nodded her head and held up a finger to Elsa signalling to wait a moment. "Okay," she wheezed. "Okay… just let me… let me catch my breath."

As soon as Anna regained her composure, she wiped the blood away from her mouth then looked over to Elsa. Her blue eyes were shimmering and round with tears, but her face was firmly set with grim resolve.

"Anna," Elsa started carefully. "You were injured _very_ badly."

"Well… I figured that," Anna said weakly.

"That wolf, it… well, your hand… it was mangled so badly that I- I," Elsa looked away and bit her lip, then exhaled heavily. "You were losing so much blood… and the wound would have become infected, so I… I had to amputate it. After that, I… well, I took the liberty of installing the cybernetic prosthesis for you."

Anna glanced down at her metal hand, then back up to Elsa as she nodded slowly.

"I'm… so, so sorry Anna," Elsa hid her face from shame. "I wish there was something else I have done but… I'm sorry."

With a long and drawn out sigh, Anna leaned her head back and shut her eyes. The pain all over her body was overwhelming her and the news that Elsa shared wasn't helping one bit. Still, she was alive and if it weren't for Elsa, she would be some wolf's dinner right now.

"Don't be sorry. You did what you had to do," Anna reassured Elsa as she raised her left hand and repeatedly opened and closed her fist to test it. "What else?"

"You were cut across the face," Elsa replied. "I stitched up your wounds and applied medi-gel, but I'm afraid there may be scarring."

"Hmm," Anna closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek, wincing when pain flared up from the still raw and tender cuts. "Ouch," she hissed, drawing her hand away.

"And after that wolf destroyed your mask, you were… exposed to a large dose of radiation. 451 rads. Serious enough to cause multiple organ failure and death if I didn't…"

Anna opened her eyes and looked at Elsa. "Didn't what?" she asked delicately.

"The Detoxicillin, I used all of it on you. It's purging your system as we speak."

"What?!" Anna shot up in bed, then immediately regretted the decision when she was overcome with queasiness. "But what about you? You gave me your mask!"

Elsa adjusted her hands so that they were gently gripping either side of Anna's neck beneath her ears, then she slid them up slowly until her thumbs caressed the soft underside of Anna's jawline. "Your life is more important than mine," she said firmly as she maintained unflinching eye contact.

Anna found that she didn't mind the touch of Elsa's skin against her own, nor did she balk from the expression of intense devotion and care. However, what she found was that in the face of such a selfless act, the gravity and implications of it had rendered her speechless.

"Elsa," Anna murmured as she leaned into Elsa's comforting touch, squeezing her hand in return. "Won't _you_ get sick?"

Elsa leaned back and as she did, she took hold of Anna's hand then slowly set them down between them, after which placed her other hand over top. "I was worried about that, but it seems that somehow, I'm immune to the effects of radiation. If not, highly resistant," she said.

"Immune?" Anna asked. "What do you mean?"

"When I finished tending to your wounds, I performed a scan of my own body," Elsa replied. "The diagnosis reported no issues."

"I guess I'm not surprised, but still. You didn't even know? And you risked your life anyways for me?"

Elsa nodded her head glumly.

Anna sighed and felt something twist around in her gut that wasn't the pain she was currently feeling. It was deep seated shame mixed with an intense feeling of unworthiness.

"I don't know how you can keep doing this," Anna muttered.

Elsa frowned. "Keep doing what?"

"This! Saving me over and over again. Why?"

"Because you're the only good thing that's ever happened to me. And some people…" Elsa cocked her head to the side and made a funny face. "Some people are worth melting for. I mean that literally, in the sense that radiation poisoning could cause your body to melt from the inside out," she joked, bringing some much needed levity to the mood.

Anna laughed, truly laughed at Elsa's often quirky and odd sense of humor. Still, the lighthearted tone that their conservation had shifted to did not rob the emotional weight from what Elsa had said just before. Anna understood where Elsa was coming from, for she could say the same thing about her. She hadn't felt this type of contentment in a long time and she often doubted whether she could feel truly happy again at all.

"You're sweet," Anna murmured as she smiled tenderly at Elsa. "Thank you. I know I say that every time but… I really do mean it."

"I know," Elsa said softly as she returned the smile.

Anna leaned forward until her forehead rested against Elsa's, then shut her eyes. They stayed like that for a long time, quietly drawing strength from each other until eventually Anna opened her eyes once more and took in their surroundings.

"Elsa, what is this place? How did we get here?" Anna asked.

"Gjallarbrú," Elsa replied. "I brought us here after you… well, you know. I hoped that they would have equipment and supplies that I could use to heal you and it looks as though I was successful in that regard."

"Wait… Gjallarbrú? Is… is VanirCorp- I mean are we-"

"No. There's nobody else here but us. For whatever reason, it looks like the entire facility is abandoned."

"Okay, so that's great for you right? Were you able to learn anything more about yourself?

"No."

"No? Isn't that why you wanted to come here? Have you looked around yet?"

"It can wait. I didn't want to leave your side for even a second. You need to recover your strength and we still have some things to discuss. Until then, I'm not going anywhere without you."

Anna shouldn't have been surprised, but once again, she was completely stunned and moved by Elsa's continued devotion and care. They had finally reached Gjallarbrú, the place of Elsa's birth. Elsa was literally within grasp of the answers she had spent her entire life searching for and now that they were here, she was willing to push it off completely until she was assured that Anna recovered.

Not only that, but the last thing she uttered just then summoned the memory of Anna's latest dream to her mind. Again, when Anna looked at Elsa she also saw Nora. She was comforted and conflicted, confused and calmed for the same woman she was now falling for had the potential to be the resurrected form of her sister.

 _She'd really do anything for me,_ Anna thought. _And I'd do anything for her._

"Right now," Elsa started as she slowly stood up, then bent down and retrieved their bags and brought them to the foot of the bed. "You need to eat. You've been unconscious for nearly twenty four hours."

"Ugh, Jesus," Anna rubbed her forehead when a sudden wave of nausea and pain spiked up and rolled through her senses. "Uh huh, I think that might help."

Elsa retrieved a few food items from their bags, drawing out a packet of instant mushroom and tofu stroganoff, a tin of sweetcorn, and two water bottles each along with some utensils. Then, she placed the items on a tray and wheeled it over to Anna's side, where she sat down and busied herself with preparing their meal.

In the meantime, Anna occupied herself by becoming acquainted with her new limb. She turned her left arm around in the light, taking a closer look at the sophisticated piece of hardware while flexing her new synthetic muscles. She repeatedly made a fist, then tested each one of her fingers by curling them in and out one after the other. As artificial as it was, Anna was surprised with how responsive and natural the movement felt. If it weren't for the pain in the organic part of her arm, she would have thought nothing had happened to it at all.

"That is… wow," Anna muttered as she waved her left hand through the air. "Feels just like the real thing."

"It's connected to your nervous system, so it should provide realistic feedback. Touch, temperature, even pain, but you may disable that setting if you wish," Elsa replied as she observed Anna. "It'll also be stronger than your old hand, which will take some time for your body to get used to, so you should take it slow for now."

Anna tested Elsa's word by reaching down and gripping the metal handrail on her bed, squeezing with a moderate amount of pressure. Immediately, the metal bent and crumpled beneath her grip, which surprised her.

"Oooh hoo hoo," Anna chuckled deviously then examined her hand in awe. "Can… can it shoot fire? Or, like, does it have grappling hook?"

Elsa frowned and fixed Anna with a curious expression as she cocked her head. "No… no, I don't believe so."

"Huh, that would have been pretty cool. But this is still… kinda badass actually."

"You don't mind it?"

"Well I never did like the idea of cyberware or implants, but I also like having a hand more. Between this," Anna wiggled her metal fingers. "And being lunch, I'd choose this. I'd be dead if it wasn't for you, Elsa."

Elsa looked away for a moment, then when she glanced back to Anna her eyes were filled with relief and gratitude. Yet, for only a second, Anna also saw fear which had vanished just as quickly. Almost as if Elsa feared that Anna would be mad with her somehow, which she thought was ridiculous.

"Good," Elsa smiled. "I'm… happy you feel that way."

Anna smiled in return, then tested out the dexterity of her new hand by easily picking up a spoon with natural ease. "Anyways," she started then leaned forward and scooped up some cold mashed potatoes. "Let's eat."

Elsa nodded happily and together, they ate their meal in comfortable silence. When they finished, Elsa dutifully cleaned up and discarded their trash. Meanwhile, Anna's headache had worsened and the pains across her body protested with every miniature movement she made, leaving her quite exhausted and worn out.

"You should rest," Elsa said quietly after she returned to Anna's side. "We've been talking for a long time now, and your body needs to heal."

"What are you gonna do?" Anna asked, after which she yawned loudly while her head felt lighter and fuzzier.

"I'll be here, don't worry," Elsa shuffled in her seat closer to Anna's side.

"Mmmkay," Anna murmured as she slowly but painfully leaned back against her bed, then shut her eyes.

Pain-addled as her mind and body were, fatigue won out and soon Anna mercifully fell fast asleep and dipped into a realm of blissful numbness.

… … …

After just an hour of dreamless sleep, Anna shot up from bed and clamped a hand over her mouth. She was feeling incredibly sick and feverish, and bile had risen in her throat.

"Here, Anna," Elsa said from somewhere off to the side as a wastebasket appeared in front of Anna.

Anna retched horribly, throwing up the contents of her stomach into the wastebasket. After she finished vomiting, she dry heaved for several awful minutes, then spat out the remaining bile in her mouth. Her whole head was spinning and every movement caused dizzying lances of pain to shoot up from her arm, face, and lungs.

"Oh, god," Anna moaned miserably as she leaned over into the wastebasket.

Elsa was holding up Anna's hair in one hand while she held the wastebasket in the other. "Shh, easy. You're okay."

Anna spat a few more times, then straightened up and leaned back against the bed. "I don't feel so good," she whimpered.

"It's just the Detoxicillin. It'll take time to work its way through your system," Elsa replied, then held up a water bottle to Anna's lips. "Water," she said.

Anna swished water around in her mouth until it was clean, then spat it out into the wastebasket. She did that several times to completely rinse out her mouth, then swallowed down long gulps to quench her thirst.

"Better," Anna mumbled weakly. "Thank you."

Elsa frowned and placed the back of her hand against Anna's forehead. Her skin still retained its sickly shade but now it was clammy and damp with sweat.

"You're burning up," Elsa said. "It must be a fever. We need to keep you cool and hydrated. Can you sit up? I need to take that coat off of you."

"Okee doke, doc," Anna mumbled. "You can… take off more than that if you want," she said, intending to sound flirtatious but instead came off as delirious. "Inspect me for cooties, heh."

"Tempting, but I'll have to take you up on that offer some other time," Elsa said as she assisted Anna in rising, then gently removed the long-coat she wore before setting it aside. "Now, drink some more water then try and get some rest. Okay, Anna?"

"Ooooookay," Anna said as she let Elsa press the water bottle to her lips.

The fever was taking its toll, turning Anna more lightheaded and incoherent by the second. In fact, she hadn't even realized the implications of what Elsa had just said as the subtle affirmation passed right over her head. She was hot and sweaty all over, but so weak that she could barely lift her arms or keep her head steady.

Once she drank her fill, Anna collapsed backward and turned her head to the side as she hacked and coughed violently. After she finished her bout, Elsa leaned over and wiped her mouth clean with a cloth.

"Elsa," Anna croaked as she turned her bleary eyes up to her.

Her vision wasn't completely clear and she could hardly see anything past Elsa's face. Though she could see less and less through the fog that was wrapping itself around her mind, Anna focused on Elsa's brilliantly blue eyes, which guided her back to sleep.

"Shh," Elsa shushed gently. "It's okay, Anna, just sleep now. I'll be here."

Anna could do no more to resist against the tide of weariness pulling her under, so she relinquished her grip on her consciousness and fell asleep once more.

… … …

_Nora? Where are you?_

Anna was back in the dream of her apartment once more, only everything appeared to be skewed and muggy, as if she were viewing it from behind a veil of amber.

_Hello, Anna._

It wasn't Nora who turned around, but Elsa. She smiled serenely and approached the shimmering wall that separated Anna from her like the first time.

_Elsa? What- how did you get here?_

_I'm not sure._

Elsa looked puzzled as she turned her head to the side to examine their surroundings.

_This is your apartment isn't it, Anna?_

_Yeah, yeah it is._

_I- I don't belong here. I'm sorry… I need to go._

_Wait, wait wait wait, don't leave!_

Elsa had already turned around and was walking towards the same window as before. This time however, it was wide open, brimming with piercing bright light while soft snowflakes drifted into the apartment, blanketing everything in a thick layer of white.

Anna reached forward but was stopped when her hand struck the invisible wall. She pounded her fist against it to no effect, then collapsed to her knees. Elsa turned around, smiled sadly at Anna one last time, then stepped out the window into the blank world beyond.

_No, no! Come back, please. Elsa!_

… … …

She woke from her dream, panting heavily and sweating all over. Anna had slept for several hours and though she was weak and lacked an appetite for anything, her stomach growled with ravenous hunger.

"E- Elsa," Anna croaked out as she blinked wearily and turned her head to the side.

Even that tiny action alone sapped Anna of the remainder of her meagre strength, leaving her to lie completely slack and limp in her sickbed. The symptoms she was experiencing before had worsened by several factors, but now her whole body felt as it dipped and coated in molten lead. She was burning up inside and out and was nearly paralyzed so that she couldn't do anything about it.

"Anna? You're awake again," Elsa said as she straightened up in her chair and gently held Anna's right hand. "How do you feel?"

"Not great," Anna smiled feebly. "I could… I could eat."

Elsa tried valiantly to return the smile, but Anna could see from her eyes the plain worry and concern that was etched within them. "Of course, but you'll need to eat these," she bent down and retrieved the sustenance paste rations that Anna had brought on a whim. "I found these in your bag and since you can't keep down solid food, these will have to do."

"Oh, god… please, no," Anna gagged at the mere sight of them. "I would literally rather die of radiation poisoning."

"I know you're being facetious, Anna, but I'm not going to let that happen. You'll just have to bear with it until you're feeling better," Elsa replied firmly as she opened the packet of sustenance paste.

"It's just so bad," Anna whimpered.

Elsa nodded sympathetically as she squeezed out a spoonful of thick unappetizing looking paste that was grayish pink in color. "I know," she sighed, then raised the spoon towards Anna's mouth. "But try? For me?" she smiled softly.

Anna repeatedly glanced down at the spoon, then back up to Elsa for several moments. Sensing that there was no way out of it, Anna took several deep breaths then nodded her reluctant affirmation.

Opening her mouth to accept a bite of the foul and unpleasant paste, Anna quickly swallowed so as to avoid tasting it as much as possible. Even then, she was still able to taste some of it and what parts she did only served to remind her that the flavor of sustenance paste still hadn't improved. The paste was thankfully odorless, but the taste was so awful that it completely defied categorization.

"How is it?" Elsa asked innocently as she squeezed out another spoonful.

"Like… rotten fish that's been left in the sun and wrapped with moldy cheese, and-" Anna gagged and nearly retched again. "Oof, that's awful. And… stuffed inside… a pig's anus."

Elsa was taken so off-guard by the vulgarity of Anna's description that she recoiled sharply and covered her mouth with her hand as her eyes widened in disbelief. Anna had worried for a second that she had offended Elsa when suddenly, her eyes lit up with glee and she started to laugh. The giggles she had tried to keep trapped behind her hand broke through and soon, Elsa descended into a fit of bubbly joy.

It was the first time that Anna had ever heard or seen Elsa actually laugh before.

While Anna could certainly read when Elsa was in a good mood - usually whenever she made one of her odd jokes - she had never so much as snickered in Anna's presence before. That simple fact brought Anna an immeasurable amount of joy for being the first to make Elsa laugh, but also an equal amount of sorrow at the realization that she had likely never been happy enough in her life to do so.

The sound of Elsa's laughter was jubilant, unrestrained and ever so pleasingly melodious to Anna's ears. She found herself smiling as well, feeling slightly more rejuvenated not from the paste but more from Elsa's merriment.

"Are you- you're laughing at me," Anna said as she smiled more widely, despite the pain in her face it caused her.

"No, Anna," Elsa snorted between giggles. "Your description was rather candid, that's all."

"Well it's true."

"I'm sure, but here. Just a few more bites."

"Ugh," Anna groaned but did as she was told.

When the ordeal was over and after the taste was washed down with some water, Anna was feeling a little better. Her body and head still caused her a great deal of pain, but at the very least her hunger had been satisfied.

"I thought, as long as you're awake, I could take a look at your wounds," Elsa said as she set away the sustenance paste. "I need to clean them and redress your bandages. The worst of it is now over, but now the greatest problem is infection. I gave you some antibiotics, but I would still like to do my due diligence, if it's alright with you."

"Yeah, yeah," Anna nodded, then regretted her decision when her head spun for a moment. "Of course," she said in a strained voice.

Elsa squeezed Anna's hand reassuringly then went away to retrieve a set of clean bandages and a tube of medi-gel before returning to her seat. Then, she gently unwrapped the bandages covering Anna's cheek, exposing three cuts which were now mostly sealed thanks to the sutures and the medi-gel. Carefully, Elsa wiped the area clean with a sterilizing cloth, then once she was finished, she redressed the area with a clean set of bandages.

"Be honest," Anna mumbled. "Does it look bad?"

"The cuts are healing well, but if you're asking about your appearance, I think you're still beautiful as ever," Elsa said then her voice turned somber as her joyous mood vanished. "I'm sorry, Anna," her voice nearly broke. "It was- it's my fault, I should have been quicker to get that… damned beast off of you."

Anna perked up for she had just experienced another first with Elsa. She never swore, either out of principle or because the usage of profanity just seemed beyond Elsa's grasp. But, she had done just so, and she had done so out of regret she felt for not being able to help Anna sooner. It was remarkably humanizing and Anna felt her heart pang with nothing but gratitude for her savior.

"It's alright," Anna said softly. "It's not your fault, I don't blame you. How could I? You saved my life. Again. For like… I don't even know how many times now, but you shouldn't be apologizing to me."

"If I'd just acted sooner, you wouldn't have been hurt so badly."

"Shit, well then I guess I don't accept your apology, because I don't want it. I can live with a shiny new hand and scars on my face, I can't live without _you,_ Elsa."

Elsa's eyes widened with hope. "Really? Do you… do you mean that?"

"Ah, that was out loud again wasn't it?" Anna muttered.

It wasn't the first time it happened and certainly wouldn't be the last. Elsa simply just had the curious effect of making Anna say whatever she was feeling or thinking of at the time, even if she meant to keep it to herself. She tried to chalk it up to her fever talking, but Anna found that a part of her didn't even want to try and hide the truth from Elsa.

"I mean… um, yes?" Anna said, making steady eye contact with Elsa.

"Oh," Elsa murmured while a bashful grin spread across her face. "I feel the same way."

"Oh," Anna replied as she was taken aback by the sincerity of Elsa's voice. "That- that's... ahem... this is... nice."

As pleasant as their conversation had been, up until this point Anna was coping as best as she could with her symptoms, taking them in stride all the while Elsa had been tending to her. However, it was now at that most inopportune moment when they both finally broached the topic of whatever it was they felt towards each other, that Anna began to be overwhelmed by her sickness once more.

Elsa had begun speaking again and whatever it was, Anna wished desperately that she could hear. Her voice was coming in muffled and distant, as if Elsa were being pulled away from Anna despite how close they were to each other. Before Anna knew it, her head felt unbalanced and heavy and she felt her eyelids being dragged down to unconsciousness. She struggled for a time, but ultimately it was in vain and eventually, Anna drifted off once more.

… … …

Anna landed back in her apartment, but by now she was frustratingly familiar with the visions she saw in her fever dream. She huffed in exasperation, then went over to the shimmering wall separating her from Nora where she pounded her fist against it out of confusion and frustration.

Nora was sitting across from her in the easy chair still staring out the window, same as before but she looked over expectantly when Anna approached.

_Hey, what the hell is this, Nora? Why can't I get over to you?_

Nora didn't answer and looked past Anna as if she wasn't there, then turned her gaze out the window once more.

_Hello? Nora! I know you can hear me, why can't you just let me in?_

Again, her sister didn't answer. Anna felt irrational anger flare up inside so she repeatedly struck the shimmering wall with her fists and feet, punching and kicking and doing absolutely nothing against the impenetrable veil that separated her from her sister.

_Talk to me, damn it! I- I just want… I need to see you again. Let me in!_

_Your heart's not in the right place._

_Huh?_

Nora turned to face Anna and smiled sadly.

_Your heart's not in the right place._

_My… my heart? What does that mean?_

Anna was then suddenly ripped from her dream as something pulled her out with incredible force. Before she could even consider what Nora had just said to her, she landed somewhere deeper within her subconscious mind. Anna fell into an endless pool of pitch black nothingness and above her through a hole that was rapidly shrinking, she caught one last glimpse of Nora before she disappeared entirely.

She was surrounded by emptiness, a void so barren that she could not make out anything at all. Anna was completely alone, floating through a vast ocean with no stars above to provide guidance or a horizon to steer towards. When she spoke in an attempt to fill the silence, no sound was produced. When she raised her hands to her face to reaffirm that she still inhabited a physical body, she found nothing. She was weightless, formless, voiceless, and feelingless.

Anna screamed then, or she tried to. All she could do was wait and watch, until her sensations were obliterated and thoughts vanished in their becoming. Time became compressed, drawn out and stretched so thinly along limitless vectors that seconds became hours and hours became days and days became years.

Unsure if she was alive or dead, Anna could do nothing, be nothing, and feel nothing. In that realm between life and death, sleep and wakefulness, Anna lingered for what she experienced to be forever.

Occasionally, after an indeterminate amount of time passed, Anna would be suddenly thrust back into her apartment.

Sometimes, Nora was there and Elsa wasn't, or Elsa was there and Nora wasn't. Each time, Anna tried desperately to break through the shimmering wall and reach either of them but she could never succeed.

Sometimes, Nora and Elsa would acknowledge Anna's presence and sometimes they wouldn't. Anna would strike the shimmering wall, kicking and punching and screaming in an attempt to feel anything and have the world feel her in return.

Sometimes, Nora and Elsa spoke to Anna, but always cryptically and in ways that offered no clues on how to escape her waking nightmares. Nora would always speak of Anna's heart, while Elsa would always claim that she wasn't where she belonged.

Sometimes she would actually wake up and resurface in reality, but she would only be lucid for a few fleeting moments. There, she saw both Nora and Elsa speaking to her, or pleading with her, or just simply sitting alongside her. Occasionally, either of them would feed and make Anna drink, but she couldn't taste or perceive any sensations. Anna was vaguely aware of her surroundings, however she still couldn't tell if she had truly woken or if she had simply just fallen further into the dreamland that enveloped her mind.

After countless repetitions, Anna felt her grip on reality slipping. She didn't know how long she had been dreaming. She didn't know if she would ever wake. She would sleep, only to wake in a dream, and she would dream of returning to sleep once more.

In that realm of endless dreams, Anna became lost.


	28. More Human Than Human

* * *

While Anna alternated between long sleeps interrupted by brief periods of wakefulness, Elsa dutifully tended to her. Three days had passed and she had spent the entire time caring for Anna as best as she could while the Detoxicillin purged her body of radiation. It wasn't a pretty process and it was certainly painful and drawn out, but thankfully Anna was asleep for most of it.

Even when she was awake however, it didn't appear that Anna was even aware that she had woken up at all. She would open her eyes and stare blankly around, sometimes right through Elsa while remaining completely unresponsive. It frightened Elsa to see at first, but over time, as Anna fought through whatever it was she was grappling with in her sleep, her condition gradually improved.

Her breathing, which was initially unsteady, returned to normal after the first day. Her wounds on her face closed up completely, requiring no further coverage with bandages and the only thing that remained of them were three faint scars by the second day. Her skin, which was pale, pasty, and hot to the touch, had regained its color after the third day.

Anna's speedy recovery was all thanks to Elsa, who remained by her side throughout the entire ordeal. She kept Anna fed and watered, and even spoke to her when she was awake or asleep. Not that it mattered, since Anna wasn't able to respond but even so, it brought comfort to Elsa at least.

On the fourth day, Anna's fever finally broke.

… … …

Elsa was currently fast asleep, dreaming of a strange vision that was vaguely familiar to her.

She was floating inside a vast and limitless expanse of white, like a snowy field hushed in the deep of winter. When Elsa looked around, she found that she didn't occupy a corporeal form and was merely a consciousness suspended in space. Before her, she could see a single green eye, flecked with blue not unlike Anna's own eyes.

A second later, the eye blinked and when it opened again it had vanished. Appearing in its place was the green bud of a flower which then began to rapidly expand and change color as if time were being fast-forwarded before Elsa. The bud turned yellow-green, then settled upon a bright and cheery yellow as it blossomed into a full fledged flower. The delicate multitude of petals expanded outward in a concentric pattern until it eventually consumed all of Elsa's vision.

Curious, Elsa reached out to touch a single petal and when she made contact, it was immediately stained red with blood. Droplets of blood began to appear all over the flower, staining the petals blood-black atom by atom until eventually the entire thing was consumed. Afterwards, the system of cells interlinked within cells within one stem began to spin into nothingness.

It was unlike any other dream that Elsa had ever had and while the ones she was used to experiencing were often related in some way or another to her memories, this one felt more like an omen. The vision of the flower disintegrated and Elsa saw no more of it as she was awoken from her sleep.

She had been sleeping in her usual spot, sitting in her chair and leaning over with her head resting on Anna's lap. She was by no means a heavy sleeper - not unlike Anna - so when she felt the slightest movement beneath her she immediately stirred and woke.

Anna was awake, her arms were raised and she was repeatedly glancing between her right hand and her left. Unlike before whenever she woke, Anna's eyes were sharp and focused and alert.

Elsa straightened up and placed her hands gently on Anna's thigh while she fixed her with a hopeful gaze. "Anna?" she murmured.

"Elsa?" Anna croaked groggily as she looked around in a daze. "Is this… real?" she asked in a voice that was low and gravelly, rendered so by disuse over the past four days.

"Yes," Elsa replied firmly as she took hold of Anna's hand. "Yes, it's real, you're awake. I'm here," she gave Anna a small and tender smile.

Anna fixed her gaze back on Elsa and when their eyes locked, Elsa saw recognition and a spark of light appeared in them as Anna's eyes welled with tears. She returned a bashful grin to Elsa, after which her features morphed into a look of hunger and longing. With a surprising amount of strength for a woman who had just woken from fever laden sleep, Anna suddenly reached out and grabbed Elsa. She pulled her in until they were face to face and only inches apart from one another.

"Kiss me," Anna whispered.

Elsa drew slightly back from confusion, but was pulled in once more. "Anna? I don't understand, you want me to-"

"Please," Anna whimpered as her lips began to tremble and a tear rolled down her scarred cheek. "I want- I need to feel… something real. I need to feel you, _please_. Kiss me."

Elsa's face changed from confusion, to curiosity, to excitement as she took in what Anna had just said. She didn't have a chance to give it much further thought, for just as she was about to respond, Anna lunged up and brought her tender lips against Elsa's own, then pulled her down by the back of her neck.

Anna's lips were deliciously soft, pliant, and divine. Elsa had never kissed anyone before, but she found as Anna sighed rapturously beneath her, her own mind went blank and a certain type of instinct began to guide her actions. She pursed her lips to return the favor, then moaned from pleasure in tune with Anna.

Pulling away first, Anna leaned up into Elsa's ear. "Get up here," she growled.

The low vibrations of Anna's husky voice and hot breath right against Elsa's ear sent tantalizing shivers down her spine where they pooled between her thighs and transformed into tingling heat. Elsa did as she was instructed and pushed herself up onto the bed, entangling their legs while hovering just above Anna. Without being instructed, Elsa descended on Anna and stole her lips into a fervent kiss once more.

Anna purred from the change of pace and looped her right arm around the small of Elsa's back, pulling her in as close as physically possible to deepen their kiss further. From there on, Elsa was happy to let Anna lead their dance given her own level of inexperience in the pursuit of carnal pleasures. Anna began to work her lips delicately against Elsa's, turning her head to the side and opening her mouth just enough to trap Elsa's upper lip between her own.

Together, they stayed like that for a long time, pressing their lips together and alternating between needy and hungry open mouth kisses, or dainty and tender kisses with pursed lips. The whole time, Elsa took her cues from Anna, switching tactics and movements to the melody that the she set until eventually, their fluttering heartbeats fell into sync with each other.

It wasn't all a call and response however and soon, Elsa proved herself to be a quick study at the craft and began to employ her own techniques. She pulled back, allowing them both a moment then pounced upon Anna to continue ravishing her, trapping her lower lip between her own and nibbling gently which produced tremendous results. Anna moaned deep and long, then chuckled a bit as she pulled away and stared up at Elsa, making solid eye contact with each other.

Anna's eyes were round with hope and adoration, while Elsa's were full with care and devotion.

"Is this real enough for you?" Elsa asked as a sly grin spread across her face.

"Mmhmm," Anna nodded approvingly. "But, I could still be dreaming, a really good one too. Pinch me."

"Pinch you?" Elsa looked puzzled. "Anna, I don't want to hurt you."

"You're sweet. You won't hurt me, don't worry."

"Okay," Elsa said, then reached down and pinched Anna by the upper part of her right arm.

"Ouch," Anna giggled. "I guess that means I'm not dreaming. Now come here," she said as she pushed herself up and closed her eyes, intending to pull Elsa into another kiss.

"Wait," Elsa ordered as she placed a finger over Anna's lips and pushed her back down in bed. "Much as I enjoy this right now, before we go any further, I need to tell you something."

Anna groaned, then ran her fingers up and down Elsa's back impatiently. "What is it?" she asked.

"You've been in bed for nearly five days now. You need a wash," Elsa replied matter-of-factly.

"Five days?!" Anna shot up in alarm. "That's how long I've been out?"

"Yes."

"Geez," Anna frowned then looked over her own appearance. "Heh, you're right. I do look gross. Ugh, I feel gross too."

"I think you're lovely, Anna. I only said so out of concern for our hygiene. I could certainly benefit from one as well."

"Well I won't say no to the opportunity of hopping in a shower with you, but are there showers here?"

"As a matter of fact, there are. This medical wing is remarkably well stocked and equipped. It's almost suspicious really."

"Alright, well let's find one and then… we can continue where we left off?"

Elsa nodded her head eagerly and grinned. "I'd like that," she said.

With that, Elsa climbed off of Anna, then helped her out of bed. Given that Anna hadn't moved that much at all over the past few days, she was understandably stiff and clumsy as she stood on her feet.

"Whoo!" Anna stretched and twisted her body around this way and that, distracting Elsa with her subtle curves. "Never thought I'd actually say this in my life, but it feels good to be out of bed! Wow."

"That's good, but you should still take it slow," Elsa cautioned.

"What my body needs is your body, pressed up against it, and your lips on my lips," Anna said with a mischievous grin and a sultry gleam in her eye.

"Anna," Elsa murmured and looked away as her cheeks reddened from embarrassment.

When she turned back around, Anna was already walking away from her, heading in a random direction deeper into the medical wing. She gave Elsa a sidelong glance over her shoulder, then grinned more widely and winked before skipping away with the bubbly energy of someone who hadn't been bedridden due to a serious bout of radiation poisoning.

"Anna, wait!" Elsa called out as she hurried after her. "Be careful, you could hurt yourself!"

"Be careful she says," Anna repeated. "Come on, I've been in bed for the last five days and I've got a lot of energy! Besides, what's the worst that could- woah!"

"Anna?!" Elsa exclaimed as she rounded the corner and found her further down a corridor, stumbling away from a cart she had knocked.

Anna sucked in air through her teeth as she flexed her stubbed toes. "I'm fine! It's fine. It's totally fine, I just nearly tripped that's all!" she called out.

Tried as she might to be annoyed with Anna's hijinks, Elsa was more amused and glad to be finally doing something other than worrying about her day in and day out. After spending so long looking sick and frail, it warmed Elsa's heart to see Anna up and about with such an amount of quirkiness and cheer she hadn't ever seen before.

She quickened her pace into a jog, then finally caught up with Anna at the end of the corridor which widened out into a junction.

"Oh, there it is!" Anna pointed towards the shower rooms. "Found it!"

Elsa stepped up alongside Anna and gave her bright eyed smile of anticipation. "Shall we?"

"We shall," Anna said, then took Elsa by the hand and led her into the shower room.

Upon entering, they found themselves in a large, rectangular chamber with neat rows of shower stalls lining either side of the walls. At the far end, was a long table set against the wall with a mirror embedded in it.

Anna went all the way down to the far end, where she finally got a chance to closely examine her appearance. The scars on her face had healed remarkably well and only three thin white lines across her cheek remained. It was a gruesome memento of the horrific attack that Anna had survived, yet she didn't appear to be bothered at all by it. Beyond that, her crimson hair was a mess and she looked slightly more hollow and gaunt then was usual. Despite it all, Anna remained as beautiful and radiant as ever to Elsa.

Next to her, Elsa did the same as she examined her own face. Pristine though it usually was, Elsa's appearance was completely haggard. Her white hair was disheveled all over and despite not needing much sleep, she looked tired and worn out from stress and worry. The last several days had taken its toll on Elsa and she found she was in much need of some comfort and respite. She glanced over and noticed that Anna was looking at her with concern on her face, not for her own appearance but Elsa's.

"You okay?" Anna asked softly.

"I'm fine, I'm more concerned about you," Elsa replied. "How are you feeling?"

"Good," Anna smiled somewhat and reached up and touched her scars as she examined them in the mirror. "Almost can't even tell I was mauled by a wolf. Heh. I kinda like it though, it looks wicked."

"You're not… angry with me?" Elsa asked tentatively. "About your hand or your face?"

Anna smirked. "Now why would I be angry at you? I mean, you said it yourself. My hand was so fucked up there was no saving it, so you did what you had to do. If the tables were turned around, I would have done the same thing to save you."

Elsa released a shaky breath. "I… I never wanted to hurt you."

"And you didn't," Anna stepped forward and grabbed one of Elsa's hands with her own metal one, running cool circles with her thumb over Elsa's pale skin. "This isn't your fault and besides… now I have a cool story, so it all works out!"

Elsa swallowed a lump in her throat then nodded, taking some measure of comfort from Anna's words.

"Come on," Anna said as she started leading Elsa towards the showers. "I think I know how to cheer you up," she led Elsa away towards the shower stalls where she picked one at random, bobbing along happily. "This is gonna feel so good!" she said cheerfully as she stepped into a shower and fiddled with the knobs.

Once water began to pour out, Anna wet her right hand and adjusted the knob until she was satisfied with the temperature. After which, she frowned and glanced down at her cybernetic arm.

"I probably shouldn't get this thing wet, now should I? Don't want it to get rusty or whatever," Anna sighed and chuckled. "Oh, what a time to be alive. Do you know if this thing comes off?" she asked as she started fiddling with her arm.

Elsa shrugged. "I can't say, though maybe we can visit the- Anna!"

With a sharp twist followed by a smooth clicking and sliding of metal, Anna unfastened her prosthesis from her body, leaving only an end cap on the stump of her now shortened arm. "Ha! Look at that!" she held her cybernetic arm by the end and used it to wave at Elsa. "Comes right off! Hey, shake my hand."

Elsa sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying not to look amused by Anna's antics.

"Come on!"

"Anna."

"Elsaaa," Anna said in a sing-song voice. "A high five at least. Bring it in here, don't leave me hanging."

"I don't know what that is."

"It's easy, you just reach out and we clap our hands together."

"Okay," Elsa said then did as Anna asked, high fiving her detached prosthesis.

Anna bent over and snorted with goofy laughter. "That is so cool!" she giggled.

Elsa chuckled a bit as well. "I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself, but I believe we came here for a reason?"

"Oh, yeah," Anna perked up and wiped a tear of joy from her eye before setting down her prosthesis on a nearby bench. "That's enough of that for now, time for the real fun."

At once, she began to strip out of her clothing one handed, which forced Elsa to look away. As she did that, Elsa shut her eyes and debated internally whether or not to respect Anna's privacy or to assist her in her undressing.

"Uh oh, damn it. Should have taken my arm off after I did this," Anna mumbled, her voice muffled beneath a layer of fabric. "Um, Elsa? Little help?"

Elsa turned around and found Anna stuck with her shirt around her head as she clumsily fumbled about with the stubborn garment. She couldn't help but laugh at the silly sight, which attracted Anna's ire as she spun around blindly to pinpoint the source of the sound.

"Why is it that you always laugh at my misfortune?" Anna asked from underneath the fabric of her shirt.

"I would never," Elsa countered, still laughing. "I've just never seen you like this before. It's nice."

"Well, when you've been stuck in fever dreamland for the past five days, not sure of what's real, and then you wake up and remember everything you learned about yourself, it gives you a _real_ sense of perspective. Now, could you please help me?"

"Right, of course. Sorry," Elsa apologized sheepishly.

She approached Anna, then removed the shirt from over her head. With Anna's upper body now exposed save for a simple bra, Elsa turned her head away and squeezed her eyes shut to help her continue undressing. Anna remained silent through the whole thing and only after was she finally completely naked did she speak up again.

"Elsa," Anna started.

"Anna," Elsa replied.

"Open your eyes."

Elsa did as she was told, but she steadfastly kept her gaze away from Anna out of respect.

"Look at me," Anna said softly. "It's okay. I want you to see me."

Slowly, Elsa turned her head to focus on Anna and when she finally settled her gaze upon her nude form, the sight of it took her breath away. Elsa gasped reverently, then let her primal urges take over as she hungrily eyed Anna up and down.

Anna's figure was slim, unsurprising given that she was slightly underweight for a woman of her age and height. Still, even one handed as she was, there was no denying that Anna was a beauty to behold. Her thin and lithe form was complemented by a set of modest breasts, a supple waist, and slender thighs. Everywhere Elsa looked, she found a delightful sprinkling of freckles dotted like star maps all over Anna's alabaster skin.

The one thing that caught her eye most however, were the scars that Anna's body carried. There was one on her right shoulder, small and round like a gunshot wound. There was another above her left hip, long and thin, likely to have originated from a cut or a stab. And finally, the last one was on the outside of her right thigh, off-pink compared to the rest of her skin due to what appeared to be a burn mark.

 _What happened to her?_ Elsa thought as she felt a pang of sorrow and grief in her heart. _Who hurt you, Anna?_

Much as she wanted to ask about them, Elsa knew it was hardly an appropriate time, so she decided that she would inquire about them later.

"Oh my," Elsa muttered breathlessly. "Anna… you- you're… amazing."

"Well aren't you the tongue tied sweet talker," Anna teased as she stepped up to Elsa. "Now… your turn," she whispered right in her ear.

Elsa shuddered and again, she felt hot arousal begin to flare up between her thighs. She nodded eagerly and began to strip out of her own clothing with the one handed assistance of Anna. Once she was finally naked as Anna was, she stood before her completely bare and open.

Compared to Anna, Elsa was slightly taller with a more filled out athletic build thanks to her bodily enhancements courtesy of VanirCorp. The smooth planes of her skin were defined with muscle, her breasts were perky, her waist was gracefully curvaceous, and her thighs were taut and shapely.

"Holy shit!" Anna exclaimed once Elsa had finally shown herself. "Are you serious?" she asked as she stepped up and placed her hand over Elsa's chest, feeling her heartbeat. "You are… really something else."

A look flashed across Anna's face and when they made eye contact again, Elsa saw that familiar look of hunger and longing. She pushed Elsa backwards into the shower stall, where they both came under the warm water cascading down on them from above. Elsa went along until she felt a wall press against her back at the same time a hand came reaching up to grasp her by the back of the neck. Immediately afterward, soft lips came crashing down against her own.

Elsa purred into Anna's persistent lips and melted into her embrace, raising her own hands and settling one between Anna's shoulder blades and the other in the small of her back just above her rear. Anna assumed the lead once more and picking up where they left off, she surprised Elsa by parting their lips wide open so that she could dart her tongue in and out of Elsa's mouth, enticing her to do the same.

The warmth and softness of Anna's mouth and her searching tongue was a divine sensation that Elsa had never experienced before. Her taste was alluring, exotic, and so intoxicating that Elsa plunged her tongue fully inside to gorge herself and fill every one of her senses with everything that was Anna. The action caught Anna off guard, who yelped in surprise, whimpered from pleasure, and moaned in ecstasy which drew out a deep throaty rumble from Elsa in reciprocation.

As the water continued to wash down all over them head to toe, their bodies that were firmly pressed together became slick and slippery. Flesh glided smoothly over flesh alike, and probing hands slid their way all over each other. Hot and pleasant though the water running down their bodies was, a more persistent and burning heat was being stoked by Anna who had driven up the soft curve of her knee between Elsa's legs. Meanwhile, Anna traced her fingers from behind Elsa's neck, under her ear, down her collarbones where they firmly grasped a breast, sending out rippling spikes of pleasure on Elsa's body.

"Anna!" Elsa whimpered as she broke off from the kiss.

"Too much?" Anna asked in a concerned voice as she let go and drew back.

"Too little," Elsa growled, then grasped Anna's right hand and placed it back over her breast then seized her in a needy kiss once more.

To return the gesture, Elsa let her own hands wander up and down Anna's back and sides until she eventually reached down and squeezed her petite bottom with her fingers splayed out to feel as much of the soft flesh as possible. Anna pulled back to gasp in shock, then giggled airily as she dipped her head into the crook between Elsa's shoulder and neck.

"Aaaah, Elsa!" Anna laughed, then dipped her voice to a lustful register. "You're bad."

Anna began to plant soft and wet kisses all around Elsa's neck, then began to mark a trail by biting lightly and sucking. Elsa's brain nearly turned to mush as she let out a lengthy moan, reflexively arching her back and turning her head up to expose more of her neck to Anna's persistent kisses.

As Anna continued, Elsa busied herself by kneading the soft mounds of Anna's rear with one hand, while with the other she reached up and did the same with one of her breasts.

"Mmm, Anna," Elsa breathed. "Anna… my Anna."

Anna growled approvingly from the possessive adjective, then sprung up and kissed Elsa deeply while cupping her face. "Call me that again," she whispered as she pulled back and stared into Elsa's blue eyes. "Say it again, please."

Sensing an opportunity to assume the lead, Elsa firmly grasped Anna then spun her around to pin her against the wall. She settled her hands on Anna's hips then gazed deeply back into her teal eyes so that she could emphasize her next words with the full intensity she wanted to communicate.

"My _Anna_ ," Elsa repeated softly, slowly, and deliberately. " _My_ Anna," she said once more, strongly, urgently, and hurriedly.

Elsa couldn't tell if Anna was crying or if some water had just gotten into her eyes but either way, she wiped her eyes with her hand then smiled as brightly and earnestly as the sun. She bit her lip, then pulled Elsa further in by her waist.

"Elsa," Anna said in a hushed tone that was nearly pleading. "Fuck me, _please._ Make me feel good, make me feel… real. I need to feel you, all of you. Please?"

"Okay," Elsa nodded softly and to ensure that no more water went into Anna's eyes, she gently slid along with Anna until they were out of the shower stream.

Thankfully, the water was hot enough that by this point it had produced a dense cloud of steam which generated enough heat to ward off the chill from being out of the water.

Elsa didn't have the faintest idea on what to do when it came to the art of lovemaking, but she understood anatomy well enough and she knew that so far, her actions had been guided by primal instinct. So, Elsa decided to do what felt natural and the first thing she remembered when she saw Anna naked for the first time was that she wanted to chart a star map over the constellation of freckles that adorned her body.

Doing as Anna had earlier, Elsa leaned forward and began to kiss her up and down her neck, biting and sucking while slowly making her way down. Each tiny kiss and nibble drew out excruciatingly pleasurable moans and sighs and gasps from Anna, who reached up and nestled her hand into the white locks of Elsa's hair, holding her tight against her body.

If the sounds of Anna's rapturous lust was a song, Elsa wanted to commit each and every note to memory so that she could play it again over and over. She made her way slowly down, plotting a route with tender kisses along Anna's freckles and stopping at each one to admire it. Everywhere Elsa went, Anna provided a vocal response that indicated that whatever she was doing was apparently working to great affect. On and on it went like this, and as Elsa ventured down from Anna's neck, to her collarbones, to her breasts, she discovered a new beat, a new rhythm, and a new melody with which she could orchestrate into a sensual tune for Anna. When Elsa reached her breasts, she paused for only a moment in uncertainty then wrapped her lips around one of the soft buds and suckled.

"Oh… _Elsaaaaa,"_ Anna groaned and tossed her head back. "Mmm, _yes_."

Elsa didn't respond, but when she felt the peak of Anna's breast harden and become stiff, she glanced up to Anna to look her in the eye. She then moved over to the next one and repeated the same process, all the while Anna arched her back outwards so as to give Elsa as much access as possible.

"More," Anna murmured urgently as she began to gently push down on Elsa's head, indicating the direction she wanted her to go. "Please, more, _fuck_ , I need you!"

Eager to please, Elsa released her hold on Anna's breast then sprung up and planted a rapid flurry of kisses over her lips to satiate her own growing appetite. Then, Elsa resumed her journey downwards and kissed the space between Anna's breasts, then knelt as she descended down the flat and smooth plane of her stomach before arriving at the sharp contours of her hips. There, Elsa came face to face with Anna's most intimate of places, completely bared before her and exposed for her to experience.

Struck by a sudden wave of clarity, Elsa peeked up at Anna and hesitated before continuing any further. "Is this what you want, Anna?" she asked carefully.

Anna looked down, said nothing, but nodded her desperate affirmation as her eyes beseeched Elsa to continue her meticulous ministrations.

Never before in her life did Elsa think she would have ever come to this scenario but now here she was, about to make love to someone for the first time in her life. Elsa was admittedly a little nervous and inside her mind, she fretted over the anatomical logistics and went over a clinical description of what goes where and how. But, her heart was also pounding out a steady and rising beat of anticipation and excitement which soon grew so loud that it drowned out any further reason or thought. In turn, Elsa felt her own arousal begin to spike as wetness not from the water pooled between her thighs.

Acting upon this reservoir of natural intuition, Elsa delayed no further and brought her lips softly against Anna's womanhood where she began peppering kisses all the way up and down the length of her glistening folds. Anna's response was immediate and she let out a sharp gasp of pleasure which devolved into mewling whimpers as Elsa carried on.

"Ooooooh, my… _Elsa_ ," Anna purred as her knees buckled slightly and she held the back of Elsa's head for balance. "Yes yes yes. Just like that."

Spurred on by Anna's encouragement, Elsa replicated Anna's earlier technique of rapid butterfly kisses, then elaborated on it by incorporating the usage of her tongue by licking up, down, and around Anna's folds which were now slick with moisture from the steam and from lust as well. With each kiss, Anna writhed and squirmed beneath Elsa so much so that she had to clamp both hands around Anna's rear to keep her steady. As she continued, the clean taste of water over Anna's core was eventually replaced altogether with the pleasant and intoxicating flavor of her lustful nectar.

Elsa supped on it like a woman dying of thirst, which only continued to increase the beat of Anna's song faster and faster which in turn stoked the pleasurable warmth building in Elsa's own core.

"Holy shit!" Anna panted. "You're so… nnngh… you're so good at this! How are you so good at this!"

From below, Elsa shrugged playfully then yelped in surprise when she felt Anna's hand push her in even further while at the same time adjusting the angle of her approach. Elsa accommodated Anna by spreading her knees apart to sink further, then continued to sweep broad strokes with her tongue, deepening each one as she did.

"Mmmm, a little… little higher," Anna instructed as she shut her eyes to focus on her building pleasure.

Elsa nodded from below, then swept her tongue up high between Anna's folds until she settled her tongue upon a soft and sensitive bud, which Anna seemed to like very much.

"Aah… agh! Yes!" Anna moaned. "Yes, right there!"

Hearing how much Anna liked stimulation in that spot, Elsa devoted her full attention to it and poured every last ounce of her devotion into the movements of her tongue. She started by running it up and down, gradually increasing the pressure each time until she got a sense of what Anna liked. When Anna's moan reached a higher pitch, or when she twitched a certain way, Elsa picked up on it and adapted her tactics accordingly.

Soon enough, Anna arched her back and began to grind and buck her hips right against Elsa's mouth to further intensify the sensations that she was being bombarded with. Anna started slow at first, then gradually picked up her pace and intensity as she was carried ever higher towards her peak.

Elsa could feel her own core crying out for attention now, though she remained steadfast in her singular focus of aiding Anna's recovery by making her feel as good as possible. Right now, all that mattered was Anna's pleasure.

To distract herself, Elsa listened to Anna's song until she fell in tune once more, then changed her technique on the fly to draw out more heavenly notes. She started running circles around Anna's sensitive bud with her tongue, then dipped down between her folds to her opening where the flavor of her nectar was most intense. With each repetition, Elsa could feel Anna's muscles tensing and becoming more taut as she strung her along.

"Elsa!" Anna cried out in delight. "Elsa, Elsa, _Elsaaaaaaa."_

Hearing her own name repeated with such urgency and ecstasy spurred Elsa on further, wiping out all of the remaining fear and uncertainty she felt over the past five days and replacing it with Anna's light and life and hope. In that moment, she had never heard a more beautiful or heartwarming sound than the utterance of her own name by the sole woman she cared about more than anything else in the world.

"Nnngh, _more._ I need more, Elsa!" Anna moaned. "I need _you,_ please!" she begged.

Sensing Anna's meaning, Elsa departed from Anna's bud and dipped lower, sweeping her tongue around and across her sopping and inviting entrance. Meanwhile, she reached around with her thumb and continued to stimulate Anna's bud by running steady circles around it, alternating by swiping up down and across in the same movements synced to her tongue.

Above, Anna nearly shrieked from pleasure. She tried speaking again, but by this point, she was so overcome by her sensations and Elsa's dutiful service that she couldn't form coherent sentences. Her knees were shaking while her hips rolled up and down with ever increasing speed and urgency. Down below, Elsa pressed her advantage and started to dip her tongue in and out of Anna's core. Elsa savored the heady concoction and let it's potent aroma flood her senses as she drove Anna relentlessly upwards, building her song towards its final crescendo.

Anna was now a blubbering mess and the clearest word that she could manage was 'Elsa,' along with several other expletives and utterances of praise and affirmation. She was nearly there and so to take her the rest of the way, Elsa backed away for a second to look up at Anna with a look of complete adoration, soaked in her lust. Then, she dove in and plunged the full length of her tongue inside Anna's core, skillfully sweeping all around to absorb as much of her radiant heat and arousal as possible while running rapid circles with a thumb over her stiff and sensitive bud.

"Elsa _, Elsaaaaa_!" Anna sobbed in pure joy as she crossed over her peak and began to plummet.

Elsa held on tight as Anna devolved into a mass of squirming, moaning flesh until eventually, her knees finally gave out and she slid down the wall onto her rear. Anna continued to spasm and writhe all over Elsa, who had darted upward to hold her steady by her waist while she rode out the remainder of her orgasm. For several moments, neither of them said anything as Anna buried her face into Elsa's shoulder until, with a final shudder, she fell slack and still in Elsa's arms.

The shower was still running and the steam cloud around was still swirling about, wrapping itself around the pair in its warm essence. Elsa was content to simply just lie there, holding Anna's naked body against her own as they basked in the afterglow of their sex.

Elsa herself hadn't been able to satisfy her own desire, but she could tell from the way that Anna had fallen limp and silent that their sex had been physically draining for her. In any case, it wasn't important to Elsa, for the only thing that she cared about was Anna's pleasure and happiness. Hers came from making Anna feel good and that was enough.

After several minutes of contented silence, Elsa began to feel Anna shaking once more, so she turned her head down to see what was wrong. "Anna?" she asked gently as she held onto her tightly. "Did I… are you hurt?"

Anna sniffed and let out a choked sob, then nestled her head in Elsa's shoulder even further. She didn't say anything but she shook her head, which brought some measure of relief to Elsa to see that she wasn't harmed.

"What's wrong? Anna, please, say something."

"Something," Anna murmured, then looked up to Elsa and gave her a feeble, tear-stained smile. "I'm fine, Elsa. I promise."

Elsa reached up with one hand and cupped Anna's cheek, gazing into her eyes tenderly, though she was still concerned. "Then why are you crying?" she asked.

"I don't know," Anna shrugged as her smile widened and reached up to her eyes which filled with hope and happiness. "I guess… I just haven't felt that good in a long time," she laughed.

In that moment, Elsa's heart broke in despair and recognition of that feeling. Yet, the knowledge that she had been the one to make Anna feel so good that it reduced her to tears mended Elsa's heart almost immediately afterwards.

"Well then I'm certainly glad I made you cry," Elsa said. "If anyone deserves to be happy, it's you."

"And _you_ ," Anna countered as she straightened up and looked Elsa firmly in the eye. "You're important to me, Elsa. I- I can't… I don't know what I'd be doing without you."

A crooked, dimpled smile crept across Elsa's face and a few tears rolled down her cheek from Anna's simple declaration of validation. The whole world could have thought of her as a senseless machine, but it wouldn't have mattered. Because now, the very same woman who once regarded her with barely concealed revulsion was now looking at her with an even greater level of devotion and admiration.

It was enough to become real. In fact, there was no further doubt of that fact in Elsa's mind now.

She was human.

"Thank you, Anna," Elsa placed her forehead against Anna's and looked her deeply in the eye. "You have no idea what that means to me."

"No, thank _you,_ " Anna said. "You've saved me… again and again and again… and again"

"It seems we have an unfortunate habit of repeatedly saving each other," Elsa replied teasingly.

Anna chuckled. "Hmm, you're right. We should just stop thanking each other then, it's just getting old at this point."

"Agreed," Elsa laughed, then placed a soft kiss on Anna's forehead.

Anna made a pleasant and happy noise, then leaned forward and seized Elsa in a deep and long kiss. Together, they stayed like that a little while longer until the shower had been running for so long that the water began to noticeably dip in temperature and the steam dissipated somewhat.

Deciding to make use of the remaining hot water, Elsa helped Anna to her feet so that they could cleanse their bodies. Neither of them spoke and the whole time, Elsa ran her hands up and down Anna's body while she did the same for no other reason at all then to help each other wash and to share the warmth of their bodies.

Once finished, they gathered their clothing and started their way back, completely naked and dripping with water. There weren't any towels to be found, so they simply made do with air drying since the chill wasn't so bad. However, just before they left, Elsa noticed something important missing and glanced backwards, finding Anna's prosthesis still lying on the bench where she had left it.

"Anna, forgetting something?" Elsa called out.

Anna glanced behind her then smiled sheepishly as she recalled that she was short by a hand. "Oh! Can't forget that," she grinned in amusement. "Can you lend me a hand?"

Elsa sighed deeply, while Anna doubled over and started wheezing from hysterical laughter.

"Get it? Because of my… heh. Haha!" Anna snorted. "That is… that is just too funny."

"Oh, Anna," Elsa shook her head then went back to retrieve the prosthesis before returning it to Anna. "Did you do that on purpose just to make that joke?"

"Thanks," Anna said sweetly as she took hold of it and reattached it to her body. "And no, I don't know what you're talking about."

With that, Elsa and Anna set off hand in hand back towards their beds, feeling completely rejuvenated in mind, body and soul.


	29. The Law of Non-Contradiction

* * *

After their shower together, Anna was feeling remarkably better than she had in years. Even so, she was also feeling very drained and exhausted from the bout of physical exertion and as soon as they returned to the medical wing, Anna and Elsa climbed into a clean bed together where they currently lay naked.

Their romp in the shower had been more than just a way to satisfy Anna's physical urges which she had been trying to suppress, as it had been a way for her to attain affirmation that she was no longer dreaming and that she had indeed returned to earth. Anna needed to feel real and tangible, she needed to touch and be touched, to feel and be felt. She had spent so long in that realm of endless sleep that when she finally woke and her sickness had passed, Anna wasn't entirely sure if she had truly woken or just landed in yet another dream. The things she saw down there confused her and more than anything else, Nora's cryptic message remained with her even long after she woke.

 _Your heart's not in the right place,_ Anna thought to herself. _I still don't get it._

Anna should have been feeling wrong or disgusted with herself at the possibility that she had just had sex with someone who could have been her biological sister by a technicality, but it was just that, a possibility. Anna should have been feeling conflicted with herself and doubtful as to her own feelings, but at the moment, she felt nothing but safety and comfort inside Elsa's arms. It was enough to push those feelings far from Anna's mind as she merely basked in the rare moment of peace she had been able to find. Until she knew for sure, Anna decided to enjoy the blissful ignorance for as long as she could.

She thought she deserved that much at least. A chance for even a modicum of happiness was enough for her to forego caution and reasoning.

The two were huddled up beneath Anna's long-coat, using it as a makeshift blanket. They had no cause to fear any radioactive material still left on the material as it had been passed through three separate decontamination chambers, same as the rest of their gear. Anna and Elsa were lying on their sides facing each other and wrapped in each other's arms. Their journey so far had been harrowing to say the least, so neither of them were in any particular hurry to get out of bed anytime soon.

"Hey," Anna started as she recalled that she had never been able to tend to Elsa in the shower. "I'm sorry about, err… not being able to _reciprocate_ back there, you know? It's just… well after you made me- I mean, after all that, it just really took it out of me. Believe me, I would have, I just didn't think I would be that tired, and I mean I really like to would have," she frowned and looked off to the side. "Like to would have? Is that even correct?"

Elsa, who had been lying with her eyes closed, opened them as soon as she heard Anna's voice and gave her signature crooked, dimpled smile. She giggled as Anna fumbled to form her response and looked at her adoringly as Anna pressed on.

"Whatever. The point is, when we do it again, I mean _if_ we do it again, that is if you want to. I definitely want to, but that's- I'm getting off track," Anna took a deep breath to stop her rambling then turned back to face Elsa. "What I'm really trying to say is… I would really love to make you feel good as well."

"It's alright, Anna. I understand," Elsa chuckled. "I suspected that was the reason, I just didn't think I could have such a _profound_ effect on you."

"Well, you did and it was awesome."

"I'm glad. And of course," Elsa turned away and suddenly looked shy. "I would also love to do it again with you."

"Oh," Anna looked surprised then immeasurably satisfied. "Cool!"

Elsa beamed and stole a quick kiss from Anna's lips. Not one to be outdone, Anna cupped Elsa's face and deepened the kiss, nibbling on her lip and sliding her tongue across at the same time.

"Very cool," Elsa muttered when they broke off.

Anna laughed again and when she thought about it, she couldn't even remember the last time she had truly laughed this much in a single day. "As long as we're talking about it," she started as she reached over and twisted a strand of Elsa's white hair around her fingers. "I wanted to ask, where did you learn all that stuff?"

"What stuff?" Elsa asked innocently.

"You know what I'm talking about. All that stuff with your tongue and fingers."

"Oh. I didn't learn it anywhere."

"Bullshit."

"It's very naturally intuitive."

"You said that about driving."

"I did."

"Are- are you really comparing sex with me to driving a truck?"

"No, not at all. The truck handled better than you did," Elsa grinned slyly.

Anna gasped from shock, then broke into a fit of bubbly laughter at Elsa's crude joke. "Elsa!" she punched her lightly on the arm. "You actually made a funny joke, you're getting really good at that."

"It's nothing," Elsa said as she stretched languidly. "I was only designed to be better than humans in every single way," she said nonchalantly "But if I may, I'd also like to ask you something now."

"Oh?" Anna propped herself up one elbow. "Shoot."

Elsa said nothing at first and instead she leaned in and gently traced the thin white scar on Anna's left side above her hip. "What happened to you?" she asked in a tone that was heartbreakingly soft and tender.

"Ah, those," Anna murmured as she adjusted her position. "Well, this one, I got when I was stabbed by some punk back in LA over a can of beans," she pointed to the scar above her hip. "This one's… what was it? A scattergun, oh yeah. Nicked the edge of my thigh and left this nasty burn," she said as she lifted her right leg and pointed towards it. "And this one up here is from a flechette," she pointed to her shoulder, sighed deeply, and looked at Elsa with a gloomy expression. "I got that one on the day that… well, you already know by now."

Elsa nodded solemnly and at first she appeared to struggle to form any words. She soon abandoned the attempt and instead, she shifted downwards and placed a delicate kiss on the burn mark on Anna's thigh. Next, Elsa did the same with a scar above her hip and then again on her shoulder before finally reaching up and placing a final kiss on the latest addition to her collection of scars on her cheek.

"I'm sorry," Elsa whispered.

Anna pulled up Elsa's left hand to return the same gesture to the scar on her palm. "Me too," she murmured. "Me too."

 _How could I have ever hated her?_ Anna asked herself as she was overcome by a sudden rush of guilt. _I was so awful to her when we first met._

Anna's expression turned serious as she shot up from bed and rubbed her eyes as if to block out the shame she felt. In her mind, she once again recalled Nora's message.

_Your heart's not in the right place._

"Anna, are you alright?" Elsa asked as she rose along with Anna, concern etched onto her face.

"Yeah, yeah," Anna sighed heavily then turned to face Elsa. "I just- I never said I was sorry."

Elsa frowned and looked confused. "Didn't you just?"

"No, no, I don't mean that. I'm talking about when we first met. I never apologized for being so awful to you."

"Oh, I see," Elsa murmured. "Well, you don't have to. I understand why you-"

"No, not this time," Anna cut her off with a wave of her hand. "You don't get to be all understanding… and caring… and just so goddamn… fucking considerate. Just- would you just listen to me?"

Elsa nodded.

"When we first met, you pulled me out of that wreck and you saved my life. And then, when you told me that you were an android, I just- I don't know. All I could think about was just how much of my life had been ruined because of them, so I guess I put some of that hatred on you and that wasn't fair. I was just horrible to you and the only thing I wanted at the time was to just get rid of you and collect my reward. To me, you were just another job. It helped me to think that way, for a long time that's how I always worked. Don't ask questions, don't get involved, just do the job and get paid."

Elsa looked away, but Anna could see her eyes had started to glisten with tears. As much as it hurt her and as much as it hurt Anna, Elsa needed to hear the truth. Anna didn't think she was a good person, she didn't even think she was a decent person. But now, she had an opportunity to try. To try and do the right thing and set matters straight.

"The only thing I wanted was to get rid of you, and I almost did," Anna turned her head to the side and cursed herself. "You almost went back to those evil bastards, they would have tortured you again, they would have tossed your brain back inside the blender, and you know what? It would have been my fault. I thought I could live with that, but I can't."

Anna hated herself every second she bore her soul to Elsa, but she carried on anyways. Even when tears blurred her vision and all she could do was look at Elsa for comfort and guidance.

"I was just so angry, I guess. I still am, for what they did to Nora. Even when you saved my life over and over, even when you risked yours just to help me, I couldn't look past it. I saw you, and I just saw everything that had ever been taken from me. But that's not who you are and it's not what you are."

Anna reached out with her hand and cupped Elsa's cheek to turn it towards herself so that they could look upon each other.

"You're good. _Really_ good and you're better than I could ever hope to be. Hell, you're better than a lot of people living today. That's who you are to me, Elsa. You're human and you're real. I didn't see that first, I don't think I even wanted to believe that. But I was wrong, and I am… so… so… sorry, Elsa," Anna said as tears began to flow freely down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry I hurt you. I wish I could take it all back, I do. If I could change everything… I didn't know how hard your life was. I didn't know what you've been through, what they did to you. If I had, I never would have… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Anna let go of Elsa's face and let her hand fall limply to her lamp as she turned away. She couldn't face Elsa any longer. She couldn't face the selflessness and kindness of the woman who had been her salvation. Anna felt undeserving and unworthy of the grace and happiness that Elsa had delivered unconditionally to her life without fail, time and time again.

"Anna," Elsa said in a shaky voice. "It's okay. Anna?"

"I'm sorry," was all Anna could repeat over and over again.

The next thing Elsa said brought the rest of Anna's walls crashing down.

"Oh, my Anna," Elsa lunged forward and seized Anna into a tight embrace, wrapping her arms around Anna's back to bring their bodies together as close as possible.

Anna had been caught off guard by the gesture, but she welcomed it nonetheless as she buried her face in Elsa's shoulder and wept. Once again, Elsa had proven that her capacity for compassion surpassed even the best of anyone in the world today, becoming something distinctively human and then transcending it. In a world of darkness and despair, Elsa had now become to Anna a vessel of light and hope. A being that was simply pure and good who lifted Anna up from the depths of her despair.

She had lived for so long putting up walls and shutting the world out to become unfeeling and unmoving as a defense mechanism, that she couldn't ever fathom being as vulnerable with someone ever again or caring about someone as much as she had now become attached to Elsa. It was Elsa that brought out the best in Anna, a side that she herself had long forgotten about. It was Elsa who had melted the ice in Anna's heart and showed her that it was possible to live, and to hope, and to dream.

Elsa pulled back and lifted Anna's face, cupping her cheeks so that they could look at each other eye to eye. She was crying as well, but said nothing more as neither of them could summon up any words that could accurately describe what they now felt for each other. Instead, Elsa leaned forward and the grace of her forgiveness that she bestowed upon Anna was made clear when she planted a tender kiss on her forehead.

Afterward, Elsa simply held Anna in her arms and gently drew her back down to bed. There, Anna laid her head to rest on Elsa's chest and listened to the steady beating of her heart while Elsa ran her hands soothingly through Anna's hair.

Eventually, fatigue overtook them both and they soon fell asleep.

… … …

A few hours later, Anna was awoken by the grumbling of her own stomach. She opened her eyes and scowled, which quickly vanished into a pleasant expression as she recalled where she was. Beneath her, Elsa remained peacefully asleep, breathing in and out evenly while she pouted slightly.

 _Guess my heart's in the right place now,_ Anna thought as she smiled to herself.

She leaned up and kissed Elsa gently on her pouting lips, which was when she also woke from her slumber.

"Good… uh, whatever, I guess," Anna greeted. "I don't actually know what time it is, heh," she chuckled.

Elsa smiled wide and bright, then glanced around. "Hmm, it's roughly past midday I think."

"How do you know?"

"The lights are keyed to a day and night cycle. I had plenty of time to become familiar with it."

"Right," Anna mumbled, recalling that she had spent the past several days in a stupor and completely oblivious to her surroundings.

"How are you feeling?" Elsa asked as she snuggled closer to Anna and laid the back of her hand on her forehead. "I'd say your fever is gone now."

"Better," Anna smiled and shut her eyes as she leaned into Elsa's touch. "A lot better, actually. I'm a bit hungry though, I could eat. How are you holding up?"

"I'm the happiest I've ever been," Elsa smiled earnestly and unreservedly as she slipped out of bed. "I'll just get our things, you stay here," she said as she started walking away.

"Sure," Anna said serenely as she laid back down and enjoyed the view of Elsa's rear sashaying side to side as she walked away.

A few moments later, Elsa returned with their clothing and bags then set them on the floor near the bed.

"What's left to eat?" Anna asked, craving some actual solid food instead of the awful sustenance paste she had been living off of for the past few days.

"Not much," Elsa replied. "We should have enough to last the journey back if we spread our meals thin. Right now, you have the option of synth-chili, this package of... fried locusts, and a can of peaches."

"Ugh. Never understood the switch to bugs as a food source. Well... I do actually get it. They're full of protein and most animals are extinct, but still," Anna sighed. "I'm just glad to finally be eating something else other than that awful paste. Blech," she made a face and shuddered at the memory of the taste that still lingered unpleasantly in her mind.

Elsa smiled. "I thought so. We'll have the synth-chili and the peaches then. First, we should get dressed," she reached into her bag and produced the bracelet for Anna's omni-pad and held it out. "Before I forget, I imagine you'll want this back. It was the only part of your left hand that wasn't damaged."

"Always a silver lining to everything isn't there?" Anna gratefully accepted the device from Elsa then strapped it to the wrist of her cybernetic arm. "Good thing too, now I don't have to buy a new one. Thanks, Elsa."

"You're very welcome."

Once they finished getting dressed, they set out their meal and quietly ate it, washing it all down with a drink of water. After they ate, they began to pack up their gear as they prepared to depart the medical wing.

"So," Anna started. "I don't think I brought it up yet, but we're really here aren't we? At Gjallarbrú?"

"Yes," Elsa nodded. "It's strange though. We've been here almost a week and yet, it feels like no time has passed at all."

Anna straightened up and remembered that Elsa hadn't once left her side at all throughout the entire time that she was bedridden. She felt a mixture of conflicting emotions then, chief among which was surprise that Elsa didn't seem to be at all concerned about finding the answers she spent her entire life searching for, especially when they were literally within reach. Anna was also heart-warmed beyond measure that Elsa was willing to forego them just for the sake of her health, but she also felt an equal amount of guilt for having to cause such a serious delay.

Gjallarbrú - which had literally cost Anna a hand to get to - contained everything they needed. For reasons as of yet unknown to them, the entire facility was abandoned despite the treasure trove of supplies and useful equipment it contained.

"Do you think we'll find answers here? Where do we even begin looking?" Anna asked.

"The android research wing," Elsa replied. "There's no other reasonable place that the data on Project SNOW would have been kept."

"Android research," Anna repeated softly then turned to Elsa. "Well, they better have some answers. It almost cost me an arm and a leg to get here!" she grinned and waved her cybernetic hand.

Elsa sighed. "Are you going to keep doing that?"

"Yup," Anna giggled then rose and shouldered her bag. "Shall we?" she asked, imitating Elsa's query for whenever they were about to proceed.

"We shall," Elsa replied, smiling.

Finally - after a lengthy but much needed delay - Anna and Elsa departed from the medical wing. They passed through the decontamination chamber a final time before returning to the massive circular foyer from before. Anna hadn't seen the size and scale of Gjallarbrú when they entered, so she took a moment now to fully absorb the immaculate yet empty facility.

"Wow," Anna said in wonder as they approached the center of the foyer. "This place is huge! Makes you wonder why they all decided to leave."

"Perhaps not all of them," Elsa said cryptically.

Anna glanced over and noticed that Elsa's expression had turned rather dour and serious. "What do you mean?" she asked as she stopped and fixed Elsa with a puzzled look.

"When I first brought you here, there was no way in. There was only a camera watching me and I was desperate, so I spoke to it and somebody must have heard because they opened the door."

"Well, if they let us in, where are they? Why haven't they tried to contact us?"

"I don't know, but that's not all. It seems that whoever let us in also wanted to test me."

"Test you?"

Elsa nodded and gestured in an arc to all the doorways that led to different sectors of Gjallarbrú, all of which save for the medical wing and android research were currently locked down. "As soon as I brought you in here, all other sectors were locked save for these two," she pointed to the medical wing and android research which lay directly across from it. "I can't imagine something like that happened by accident, so whoever heard me outside also wanted to see what I would do. Choose between you, or the answers I wanted."

Anna was once again completely dumbfounded by Elsa's relentless selflessness and devotion. As if it wasn't clear enough already, Elsa consistently displayed a remarkable depth of emotion and capacity for empathy and humanity. It was so earnest that it ironically made her more human than most people.

 _I don't deserve you,_ Anna thought.

"It was hardly a choice," Elsa said softly as she met Anna's gaze. "I chose you."

"Elsa, I mean, I can't even think of anything to say," Anna mumbled.

They both remained silent for a moment until curiosity got the better of Anna and she looked up at Elsa again.

"What exactly did you say to them?" Anna asked cauiously.

Elsa seemed to be put off by Anna's question as her expression turned even more gloomy and she looked away, unable to maintain eye contact. "I… it's not important. What's done is done and you're alive. That's all that matters."

Anna felt something unpleasant twist around in her heart at the realization that Elsa was hiding something. Something that she didn't want to, or simply couldn't talk about just yet.

"Elsa," Anna took a step towards her. "You can tell me. What did you say to them? It must be really important if it was enough to convince them to let us in here."

"Anna, please," Elsa said as her lip trembled. "I can't talk about it, not right now. Can we go?"

It bothered Anna to see how much stress she was putting Elsa under, especially now after they had become so attached to each other, so she decided to drop the issue for now. "Okay, tell me about it later?"

Elsa turned to face Anna and nodded her head while smiling valiantly. Still, Anna could see that there was pain behind Elsa's eyes.

"I will," Elsa said shakily then gestured towards their goal. "Come on, we're nearly there."

Anna stared after Elsa for a moment as she began walking away, then shook her head in an attempt to make some of the unease growing within her heart go away. She fell in step beside Elsa and together, they made their way towards the android research sector. Still, she couldn't help but wonder about what Elsa said to their mysterious benefactor.

 _Corpos aren't the type to do anything for free out of the goodness of their heart. Especially if it came to letting us into a secret bunker in the middle of nowhere filled to the brim with useful goodies,_ Anna thought. _No, Elsa must have offered them something… made a deal of some kind, but what?_

That line of thought gave Anna pause as further questions were raised in her mind.

_What could Elsa have to offer? VanirCorp wouldn't be interested in credits, the only thing they want is… no._

Anna suppressed a shudder from the awful implication as she felt a pit of dread form in her heart. If Elsa had indeed offered herself in exchange for the mere opportunity to save Anna's life, it would certainly explain why she had suddenly become so cagey about the topic. It was still just a thought and Anna clung to the hope that since for the moment nobody had yet come to apprehend Elsa, there was still some other explanation that would clarify everything.

_Well, even if that's what she did, I won't let them take her. Nobody is ever going to hurt her again, I swear._

Neither of them spoke as they approached the doorway to the android research sector, which opened as they approached and revealed an unremarkable elevator. Anna and Elsa entered and as soon as they did, the elevator began to descend without any action required on their part.

Anna cleared her throat nervously then turned towards Elsa. "Let's hope this goes better than our last elevator ride, huh?" she joked, attempting to bring some levity to the tense silence that had settled upon them.

Elsa looked over to Anna and gave a half-hearted smile, which vanished quickly as soon as she looked away.

For the rest of the way down, Anna alternated between shuffling on her feet uncomfortably and glancing at Elsa from the corner of her eye. Elsa simply kept her gaze forward the entire time, standing eerily still and remaining frustratingly quiet. Eventually, after descending for what felt like multiple floors, they came to a stop and the elevator doors opened before them, permitting them entry to the android research sector.

The first sight that greeted them was a scene of chaos.

They were standing in a large rectangular chamber. Dried blood, bullet holes, and scorch marks adorned the walls, floor, and ceiling everywhere they looked. Across the way, lights flickered on and off intermittently, and structural damage left exposed wiring from wall panels and ceiling tiles that had fallen loose. The most disconcerting thing above all else though, was how eerily quiet it was. A silence which was compacted and amplified in the subterranean complex.

"What the hell happened here?" Anna asked slowly.

Elsa scanned the grim scenery around them, then she turned her head to face Anna. "I don't know, but maybe this explains why there's nobody here."

"Maybe," Anna nodded.

She went over to a dark, red bloodstain smeared across the crisp white flooring and knelt to examine it. Whoever had died there had been clearly dragged away, but it had happened a long time ago. The bloodstains were old and dried while the scorch marks were cold. It was much the same tale anywhere else that Anna looked, but it didn't provide any further answers, only more questions.

Anna straightened up. "Whatever did happen here, happened a while ago."

"Which means this facility has been abandoned for quite some time," Elsa added. "But that doesn't explain why the power is still on."

"And it doesn't tell us why we haven't seen any signs of a fight anywhere else. Hmm. I don't like this."

"Neither do I," Elsa withdrew her sidearm. "Do you still have your gun?"

"I do," Anna replied as she reached for her hand cannon. "Let's go, careful like."

Together, the pair set off further into the android research sector, passing beyond the initial rectangular chamber and into a series of long corridors and hallways. As they progressed further in, they found more and more scenes of carnage but curiously, there were no corpses to be seen anywhere.

They eventually came upon a reception area where at the far end, they spotted a humanoid figure with its back turned to them, standing at a desk with its head bowed and out of sight. For whatever reason, it appeared the figure was unaware of the state of the facility and working diligently away at a terminal.

"There's someone over there," Elsa whispered as they carefully approached the reception desk.

Anna nodded, then gave each of the corners on either side of them a quick check as they headed into the reception area. "I see them," she replied. "But what are they doing here?"

"Perhaps they need help," Elsa said, then lowered her sidearm as she approached the desk.

"No, wait-"

"Hello? Hello, can you hear me?"

The figure standing at the desk immediately whirled around at the sound of Elsa's voice, revealing it to be not a person at all, but an android. Much of its synthetic skin had been peeled away from its body, revealing the metal endoskeleton beneath and an expressionless face that partially exposed the skull.

"H- hell- hello, and w- welcome to Gjalllar- Gjallarbrú," the android jittered in place and it's speech modules were clearly glitching. "Ho- how may I a- assis- assist you toda- today?"

Anna and Elsa backed away reflexively from the malfunctioning android at the same time it started advancing upon them. The android walked around the reception desk, spasming periodically as it quickened its pace and reached out with its arms towards Elsa with murderous intent.

"Uh," Anna took aim with her hand cannon and continued backing away. "I don't think this thing wants to assist us."

"It's malfunctioning," Elsa said. "Maybe we can-"

The android let out a shrill metallic screech as it suddenly leapt towards Elsa, arms outreached and aiming for her throat. Anna shouted in alarm and attempted to fire, but Elsa reacted more quickly. She grabbed the android from out of the air, then held it out at arms length while the thing reached and swiped for her face. Unable to engage with it any further, Elsa decommissioned the android by slamming it on the ground shortly before stomping on its face.

The upper half of it's head above the jaw exploded beneath Elsa's boot while metal parts and circuitry alike spilled across the ground. The android twitched for a few seconds longer and its voice became significantly more distorted until it finally fell still and silent.

"Woah," Anna murmured, both in awe of Elsa's strength and at the malfunctioning android. "Jesus, what the hell was that about?"

"Anna, look," Elsa pointed towards the hands of the android. "It's hands, they're covered in blood."

Anna felt a shiver down her spine as one piece of the puzzle slipped into place. "Okay… okay, that's not good."

"This android must have hurt someone."

"Couldn't be the only one. I'm thinking a whole bunch of them must have gone haywire. Just look at this place."

"I think you're right," Elsa said softly, then went around the desk towards the terminal the android was working at. "Let's see if we can learn anything from this terminal."

Anna joined Elsa by her side and watched as she interfaced with the display. The most recent file was the one that the android was working on, which was a text document containing only one phrase which they both read aloud.

> _The devil finds work for idle hands._
> 
> _The devil finds work for idle hands._
> 
> _The devil finds work for idle hands._

On and on that phrase was repeated for what could have been several weeks. Whatever else beyond murder that android had been doing, it had clearly devoted the remainder of its time to typing that phrase again and again for however long since the as of yet unknown incident had occurred.

"Well, that's creepy as hell," Anna shuddered.

"There must be something that can point us in the right direction," Elsa said. "Project SNOW, they must have stored the data here somewhere. We just need to find out where it is."

Elsa flicked through a few more screens until she brought up a search menu. She typed Project SNOW, which then produced a single result.

"Here it is!" Elsa exclaimed as she tapped on the result, which brought up a map of the entire android research sector. "I can't access the data from here, but it looks like it's kept in the archives."

"And why do I get the feeling this is going to be as easy as the hospital was?" Anna asked sarcastically.

Elsa glanced over to Anna and smirked. "You're welcome to stay here if you wish."

"What, while you go off and kick robotic ass without me?" Anna scoffed and then started walking away. "Like that's gonna happen."

She went around the reception desk then just before she turned a corner, she crouched and peered around the side. Behind her, Elsa crept up alongside Anna then hovered above her as she poked her head around the same corner to survey the next hallway which was empty. A faint metallic voice could be heard speaking aloud to itself which was also accompanied by a steady and rhythmic scraping sound from the far end past a junction.

Quietly, Anna and Elsa made their way over and as they approached, the metallic voice became clearer. They came upon another android by itself, standing in place in the middle of a pile of twisted wires as it attempted to sweep the mess aside with the sharpened end of a broken broom.

"Oh dear, what mess. Need to tidy," the android repeated over and over to itself.

Knowing better to approach an android now, Anna and Elsa both hung back as they observed the lifeless automaton struggle on with its futile task. From their distance, they could see that like the previous android, it was an older model that was simply a metal endoskeleton draped in synthetic skin. It's appearance was worn and dirty, and from the jittery unstable nature of its movements, this one was also malfunctioning.

"What should we do?" Elsa whispered.

Anna crouched down and picked up a chunk of debris and before peeking around once more. "We don't know how many of those things are down here, so let's try and keep it quiet for now. I'm gonna draw it away and soon as it moves off, we'll slip past."

Elsa nodded. "Alright. Good idea."

Hefting the chunk of debris in her hand, Anna glanced down the opposite corridor of the junction, then tossed it with enough force to cause a noticeable noise which drew the sweeping android's attention.

"Something amiss?" the android asked aloud as it whirled around and stared in the direction of the noise.

A few tense seconds passed as Anna and Elsa ducked behind an alcove and waited.

"This could require my attention," the android said as it began making its way over to the other corridor.

Anna and Elsa remained out of sight as the android passed them by, then as soon as it was clear they quietly slipped out of their hiding place and quickly crept down the opposite hallway. They didn't stop until they were well beyond sight and earshot of the sweeping android, continuing ahead in search of the archives. The next area they came upon was a large area filled with various labs and offices, connected to each other by wide hallways.

All around them, androids could be seen or heard carrying about their routine business, completely unaware of the state of the facility. Some were engaged in useless maintenance work, while others were armed and roamed about on patrol.

"Well, we knew this wouldn't be easy," Anna murmured as they crouched behind a stack of crates and took stock of their situation. "What are you thinking?"

Elsa frowned. "We should avoid combat as much as possible, so I would advise stealth for now."

"Glad we're on the same page then," Anna peeked over the crates to scan the immediate area and once she found that it was clear, she cocked her head to Elsa. "Come on, it's clear."

Together, they snuck their way forward, dipping out of sight whenever an errant android crossed their path. Anna didn't have the slightest clue on where to go, but she knew they were headed in the right direction when they passed through a wide doorway with a sign to the side that pointed towards the archives.

Beyond the doorway, they passed through a suite of offices when suddenly, a string of voices became audible both in front of and behind them as a retinue of androids approached. If they didn't move soon, they would surely be discovered.

"Shit!" Anna whisper-yelled as she swept her gaze around, searching for an escape route. "What do we do?"

Acting fast, Elsa went off to the side where she found a vent cover and quickly but quietly opened it. "In here," she pointed towards the vent. "Hurry!"

Anna went in first, followed by Elsa who slid the vent cover back into place just seconds before a group of androids appeared. As they crossed paths, they addressed each other with garbled lines of pre-recorded dialogue.

"Plea- p- pleasant afternoon we- we're havin- having, isn't it?"

"-deed- indeed. Carry on."

Inside the vent, Anna released a sigh of relief. "Whew, that was a close one," she turned around and started crouch walking through the vent as Elsa brought up the rear. "Good spot with the vent, Elsa. Don't know what could have happ- oh."

From the faint light inside the vent, Anna could see a dried smear that stretched away into the darkness. To get a better look, she turned on the light of her omni-pad and immediately found an old bloodstain which they were now on top of.

"What is it?" Elsa asked from behind.

"Uh, some unlucky fella who had the same idea as us apparently," Anna replied.

Unable to turn back, Anna and Elsa continued crawling their way through the vents until they came upon the distinctive stench of decay. Just a little further ahead, they entered a section of the vent which widened out and offered enough room for them to stand, which was where they also found the source of the stench.

The corpse was dressed in a scientist's lab coat and from its state of decay, there was no telling whether it was male or female. It was curled up in a far corner and nearby its outstretched hand was a data pad which Anna picked up and began to read.

> _Shit._
> 
> _This is un-fuckin-real. Not even an hour since the patch went online and something has gone seriously wrong. Andys were supposed to get a software update, but whoever was in charge of it royally fucked up. The patch must have overridden their safety and obedience protocols because as soon as it went live, they went batshit and started massacring everyone._
> 
> _One of the bastards nearly gutted me with the end of a broken broom. A fucking broom! I managed to get away and hide inside this vent, but I don't know how long I can stay here. I think I saw Erica and some of the others barricade themselves inside the head offices. She's got the only overseer's key to override the lockdown, but now they're trapped. I have no idea where the security team is and we just got word from corporate for everyone to head to the living quarters and wait there for rescue._
> 
> _I can still hear the screaming._
> 
> _I'll stay here and see if I can't plug up this hole somehow. When I'm ready, I'll try and join up with the others._

"Jesus," Anna muttered once she finished reading the entry on the data pad.

"What is it?" Elsa asked.

"The androids, something went wrong with them. Sounds like they killed most of the staff, which explains all the blood."

"Hmm," Elsa looked pensive then turned away from the corpse. "That is troubling."

Anna set down the data pad. "Do you think any of them are still alive? This guy mentioned that some of the staff locked themselves inside their offices."

"Doubtful. Whatever happened here must have happened weeks ago."

"Yeah, you're right. We should keep our eyes peeled for any more data pads like this, maybe we can learn more."

"Agreed."

Setting off once more, Anna and Elsa departed from the scientist's resting place and entered another vent duct. They crawled through, turning this way and that as the vent led towards an empty lab. Anna paused at the vent cover, peering outwards carefully to ensure they were alone before she quietly crept out with Elsa, who shut it behind her.

The lab around them was quiet, still, and bathed in complete darkness. Slowly, the pair moved forward to reach a door that led to a hall beyond when suddenly, just as Anna turned the corner of a table, a metal hand reached out from below and grabbed her by the ankle.

An android with its legs shattered had apparently been lying completely still on standby when Anna had practically tripped over it. She gasped in surprise, then reflexively took aim at the android with her hand cannon.

"Naughty, naughty," the android quipped as it reached up with its other hand and twisted Anna's right hand painfully, causing her to cry out in pain and drop her weapon.

Disarmed, Anna reared back her left fist and struck the android directly in the face, denting its skeletal visage.

"You are becoming hysterical," the android said as it started to climb up Anna's torso, attempting to reach her throat to throttle her. "Please, calm down. Allow me to help you."

Anna strained beneath the added weight and repeatedly struck the android in the face with her metal fist when Elsa stepped in and wrenched the android off of her. Once the thing was off Anna, she tossed it against the far wall. The android slammed against its back with enough force to dent the panelling and fell to the floor, where it immediately began crawling to the pair with frightening speed for something with disabled legs. Before it reached them, Anna retrieved her hand cannon and stomped on the thing's back to keep it pinned in place. She then placed the barrel of her weapon against the android's head and fired twice, finally killing it.

"Are you alright, Anna?" Elsa asked.

Anna waved away her concern. "Yeah, just dandy. That was probably a mistake though."

As if one cue, other androids spoke out in alarm as they heard the gunshots and began to converge on their location. Footsteps along with scratchy metallic voices drew closer and soon, Anna and Elsa would have a fight on their hands.

"No choice now," Elsa readied her sidearm. "Let's clear a path to the archives."

Seizing the initiative, they departed from the lab and as soon as they stepped out, Anna and Elsa turned in different directions to gun down the androids approaching them. Most of them were armed with basic tools such as hammers and wrenches while one in particular carried a sharpened broom stick handle that was covered in dried blood. As soon as they spotted the pair, the androids began to speak in their unsettling and malevolently friendly manner.

"Now, now. There's no need for this."

"Yo- your presence has been lo- l- logged."

"Do you have a permit for that firearm?"

"D- don't e- be shy."

Together, Anna and Elsa opened fire immediately upon the androids before they could draw close enough to strike with their improvised melee weapons. Anna dropped two by double tapping them, placing a shot in their chest then their head in quick succession before she had to reload. As she did that, Elsa dispatched of another three androids advancing on her from the other side by first kneecapping them to slow them down before destroying them with a final headshot.

With nothing around now but piles of scrap metal, Anna finished reloading then turned towards Elsa who was scanning around for further threats.

"All clear," Anna sighed.

"For now," Elsa replied as she turned to face Anna, exposing her back for just a second.

Anna spotted another android as it appeared behind Elsa, then acted quickly when she saw the plasma scattergun it was holding. "Elsa, look out!" she exclaimed as she grabbed her and dove backwards.

They landed together in a heap, with Elsa on top of Anna and having ducked just in time to avoid a barrage of superheated plasma bolts that soared over their heads, singing the wall behind them. Before the android could fire again, Elsa shot off the arm holding the scattergun, then finished it off by shooting it through the chest.

"Good shot," Anna said as they watched the android crumple to the ground.

Elsa smiled and looked down at Anna, still straddling her. "Good save."

Anna noticed their current situation and grinned. As much as she wanted to linger there for a while longer, it was hardly the place nor the time to do so. Elsa rose first, then helped Anna to her feet after which she went over and retrieved the fallen scattergun. With her new armament, Elsa led way the forward as the pair continued towards the archives.

Along the way, the encountered two more androids armed with tools advancing upon them.

"Do y- you have an -ment ap- appointment?"

"You really shouldn't be here."

Elsa blasted the two apart with her scattergun, peppering them with bolts of plasma which ignited their endoskeletons and melted their internal components. They stumbled forward a few more steps, uttering highly distorted speech then collapsed into burning heaps of slag. As Elsa racked the pump, more androids appeared in front of her which she started to deal with.

In all the commotion, another android appeared from behind Anna, limping on a broken foot and dragging a fire axe over the ground behind it. Anna heard the sound and spun just in time to see the android rearing back its arms as it prepared to swing. Ducking, Anna evaded the blow that otherwise would have taken off her head. The android stumbled and became unbalanced from overswinging, giving Anna an opportunity to step in close and pry the axe free from its grip aided by the strength of her cybernetic arm. With the android defenseless, Anna raised the axe high over her head and brought it crashing down, embedding it deep in its shoulder.

The android stumbled back and glanced at the axe in its shoulder, then glared at Anna. "Tsk tsk tsk. Now that was rude."

Anna followed up by leaning back as she extended a foot outwards, kicking the android away and prying the axe free from its shoulder. Opting to save her ammunition, she swung out with the axe in a wide and savage arc.

" _Yeeaaggh_!" Anna roared as the blow caught the android by the neck and decapitated it completely, sending its head up into the air before it plopped back down on the floor.

That one fight alone had nearly winded her and yet, Anna could see at least two more androids in a better state of approaching her with speed. From behind her, she could still hear Elsa letting off salvos of bolts with her scattergun, but at the moment Anna was busy and could not assist her. Mustering up a bit more energy, Anna lifted the axe high above her head once more and tossed it outwards, spinning end over end until it struck one of the androids square in the face. It didn't have the effect that she intended, as only the blunt end of the handle struck the android but it worked in knocking it over.

With one currently disabled, Anna withdrew her hand cannon and dropped the second one before returning her attention to the first and disposing of it in the same manner.

Meanwhile, ahead of them Elsa was firing shell after shell with her scattergun and unloading plasma bolts into an oncoming group of androids. A considerable number of them already lay on the ground in smoking piles of burnt metal, but at least half a dozen remained as they advanced towards them. She was able to drop three more which was precisely when her scattergun ran out of ammunition.

Elsa tossed the scattergun aside and withdrew her sidearm, emptying the rest of her last magazine into another android. With no more bullets to fire and nothing to use but her fists, Elsa flipped her sidearm around in her hand so that she gripped by the barrel, then swung it with the grip pointed out and caught an android in the side of the head, embedding it there. Next, she kicked its legs out from underneath and stepped on its neck to pin it down, ripping off one of its legs as she did so. With her new bludgeon, Elsa turned around and blocked a fist aimed at her face, then beat the final android repeatedly until it was reduced to useless metal.

In the time that Elsa had been doing that, Anna finally got a chance to turn around now that there were no more threats. Anna caught sight of Elsa just as she finished beating the android to death with the leg of another. When she was done, she tossed the thing away and retrieved her sidearm, then looked over at Anna.

All around, over a dozen androids lay dead before them.

"Holy shit," Anna bent over to catch her breath, then pointed between Elsa and the androids lying at her feet. "Did you do all that?" she panted.

"I did," Elsa replied nonchalantly.

Anna nodded, unsurprised, and looked around at the carnage. "I think, uh, think that may be all of them."

Not willing to chance another encounter by lingering, Anna and Elsa set off at a renewed pace, exploring the rest of the android research sector until they found a wide stairwell that led further underground. Once they descended deeper into the earth, they came upon a circular sort of antechamber where at the far end lay a thick blast door set in a wall of reinforced concrete. Next to it was a terminal that controlled the doors and permitted entry to the archives beyond.

There, they swept through the antechamber to check for any further danger, then once they were assured that they were alone, Anna went up to the blast doors and laid her hand on it. At the same time, Elsa went over to the terminal and began interfacing with it.

"This has got to be it," Anna said as she glanced over to Elsa. "Any luck?"

Elsa frowned as she attempted to open the door, which only produced a flashing red display. "Damn it!" she swore for the second time, which surprised Anna again. "This door won't open without the overseer's key," she sighed then started to pace rapidly back and forth, much like Anna did whenever she was feeling frustrated.

Even if Elsa was doing an excellent job of hiding her emotions, Anna could clearly tell that she was nearing an outburst as she had never seen Elsa in this state before. All the signs that pointed towards numbness and impassivity were what actually gave Elsa away. Her face was set into stone, but her lower lip was trembling nearly imperceptibly. Her eyes which were usually sharp and alert were glazed and unfocused. Her hands were clasped together in front of her, but Anna could see they were shaking. Finally, the pattern of Elsa's pacing was rigid and static, taking the exact same number of steps before turning to the right by 180 degrees each time to repeat the process.

"Hey," Anna said as she stepped forward and gently took hold of Elsa's hands, stopping her in place. "It's okay, Elsa. Really, we'll find the key. It has to be here somewhere."

"We- we're so close," Elsa muttered as her gaze refocused on Anna.

Anna smiled reassuringly and cupped Elsa's cheek. "I know. We made it this far, right? Let's just push a little further."

Elsa leaned into Anna's touch and smiled warmly. "Okay," she nodded.

"Come on. That dead scientist mentioned the overseer's key was in the head offices, so let's head there."

"Following you."

Backtracking from the archives, Anna and Elsa retraced their route back through the labs then turned down another hallway they hadn't explored yet. That one led towards another stairwell that went upwards, leading towards the suite of head offices where the staff had apparently locked themselves in. If any of them remained alive, none of them called out to the pair as they swept through the offices.

The only thing to find as they went through was overturned furniture, shattered glass, more bloodstains, and empty shell casings. The rogue androids had evidently ransacked the work spaces of their former masters.

At the far end lay the largest office, overlooking the android research labs below. A set of double doors lay before them, blocked by heavy furniture. Anna shined her light through and found only darkness and misshapen figures seated in chairs far ahead. To the side, a placard indicated who the office belonged to.

> _Doctor Erica Wu_
> 
> _Overseer of Operations, Android Research_

"There's our overseer. Now to find the key," Elsa said as she looked around for a way in. "There's another vent over here, maybe we can use that to get around this barricade," she suggested as she pointed off to the side.

"Sure, sure," Anna said as she drew back her metal fist and punched through the bulletproof glass. "Or, we could use a bit of muscle," she added as she unlatched the door from the other side. "Help me move this stuff out of the way."

Anna and Elsa braced themselves against the door by resting their shoulders against it as they looked at each other.

"Ready?" Anna asked. "On three. One… two… three!"

Pushing against the door, the barricade on the other side budged and the door inched its way inwards. Anna strained against the heavy objects while Elsa remained cool. Eventually, after digging in their heels and throwing their full weight against the doors, they cleared the barricade and stepped through into the overseer's office.

"We're in," Elsa said as she glanced to either side of the door.

Anna dusted her hands off and started forward. "Let's take a look around."

Littered across the ground were empty cans of food and water bottles. At the side of the office opposite to the door was a large desk where a corpse was slumped over it, still clutching a revolver. Seated in front and displayed in a macabre meeting were five other corpses still seated in their chairs. The office was barely furnished and had a severe color scheme of only black and white, save for spastic splashes of red from the dried blood stains covering the ground and a large window on the other side of the desk.

By this point, Anna and Elsa had become accustomed to the scent of decay.

Anna went over to the seated corpses and examined each one in turn. They all had a bullet shaped hole in the middle of their foreheads except for the one slumped over the desk. That corpse had a bullet hole in the side of its skull from what was clearly a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

"Spooky," Anna muttered, then turned her attention over to Elsa who was standing next to the corpse and reading from a data pad. "Another one? What's it say?"

Elsa finished reading then swallowed thickly before handing it over to Anna. Taking it in her hands, Anna began to read the final part of the grim tale.

> _We're going to die here._
> 
> _We've run out of food and water. We can't go out because the androids out there are just waiting for us… staring at us. We can still see them through the window even though we barricaded the door. They could easily tear it down, but they haven't yet. I don't know why._
> 
> _Corporate ordered us to retreat to the living quarters and hold out there, but from the camera feeds it looks like everyone is dead. The androids must have pumped in some kind of neurotoxin through the vents and with everyone crammed in there like cattle…_
> 
> _I have no idea how this happened. It was supposed to be a routine software update for the androids until something must have gone wrong with the patch. A virus, or a malicious code, or some error in the sequencing overwrote all of their programming and turned them… violent. It all just happened so quickly. One minute the patch was being installed and all the androids were shut down. In the next, they were waking up and the first thing that one of them did was crush a technician's skull between its hands._
> 
> _Some of us tried to fight back but we're just scientists, doctors, and engineers. We're not soldiers. We didn't stand a chance._
> 
> _They've shut down the elevator. There's no way out. Our security forces here were overwhelmed. Corporate is watching us get slaughtered through the feeds but the rescue team still hasn't arrived yet._ _Ever since Project SNOW was completed, Rosenthal had been planning on mothballing this facility. It was only a matter of time and this whole incident is just an easy excuse for her to shut everything down._
> 
> _We don't have any other options. I've got a revolver here with six bullets, one for each of us._
> 
> _If anyone finds this, know that this was the better option._

"These poor people," Elsa looked around at the corpses.

"This is VanirCorp we're talking about," Anna replied as she set the data pad down. "They knew what they were getting into."

Elsa frowned. "Still, to die like this… it's sad."

"Yeah," Anna sighed. "But as far as I know, no matter which way it happens, they're all sad ways to die."

They spoke no more of it and returned to their searching. Elsa began to pull out drawers in the desk and started rifling through each one while Anna went off to the side and found a glass decanter sitting on a small table still filled with whiskey.

She picked it up and pulled off the stopper, then held it up to her nose as she breathed in deep. The scent of the whiskey was alluring and powerful and nearly tempted Anna to have a drink then and there when she stopped herself. She glanced backwards at Elsa and let her gaze linger for several long seconds, then shook her head and set the decanter back down. Anna hadn't had a drink since they left New York and after everything they encountered, she found that she didn't want one.

 _Now's not the time for that,_ Anna chastised herself. _Stay focused, Anna._

"Here it is," Elsa said as she pulled out a plastic keycard from the desk. "I found it!"

"Great!" Anna spun around, leaving the whiskey behind as she made her way over to Elsa. "What are we waiting for then? Let's get back down there."

… … …

After they backtracked through the complex they found themselves standing in front of the sealed entrance to archives once more. Anna and Elsa both stood in front of the mute blast doors, simply gathering their resolve as they prepared to face whatever lay beyond. Ever since Elsa had refused to elaborate on whatever it was she had offered to VanirCorp, Anna had been feeling a growing sense of foreboding unease for reasons beyond that alone.

Neither of them had to say anything about it, but they both knew that whatever they would learn beyond those doors would learn would change their lives forever.

"So," Anna glanced over to Elsa. "Ready to face the truth?"

Elsa nodded firmly and she smiled, although her eyes betrayed the same trepidation that Anna was feeling. "Ready," she said.

Nothing could have prepared them for what they would discover next.

With that, Elsa went over to the terminal and swiped the key card through a slot in the side which brought up an option on the display to open the doors. She placed the key card in her pocket for safekeeping, then placed her palm flat against the hologram. The terminal chimed in response, then vanished. A second later, audible clicking and sliding could be heard as the heavy bolts were unlatched and the doors began to open.

As a seam appeared down the middle and the doors split apart. Mist bled through the crack and pooled out over the floor in front of them, beckoning them inside. The interior was dark and at the moment, nothing could be seen through the ethereal veil of mist.

"Cool," Anna muttered as mist swirled around their feet.

After the doors fully opened, small lights in the ground lit up before them, cutting a path through what was revealed to be a massive server farm. Server stacks towered off the ground all around them and were arranged in neat rows inside of a cavernous chamber that was hexagonal in shape. Inside, the air was noticeably chillier than the rest of the complex due to the incredible amount of cooling power needed to keep such a server farm running.

Anna and Elsa nodded to each other then together, they started making their way inside the archive. At the center of the server farm was a single staircase that led upwards to a hexagonal platform which stood taller than the rest of the stacks. In the center of it was a simple rolling chair, surrounded by numerous terminals and above which hung a mass of cables and wires extending up towards the ceiling high above them.

"This is incredible," Elsa murmured in awe as they passed by row after row of server stacks.

They walked until they reached the staircase, then ascended it towards the central platform. There, Anna and Elsa examined their surroundings carefully to determine where and how to begin. It was then that they noticed that the terminals surrounding them didn't have the usual holo-displays to interface with.

"So, how are we supposed to do this?" Anna asked as she looked around. "Because this place is huge, how do we even know where to begin?"

"Hmm," Elsa murmured as she examined the centermost terminal, which was when she noticed a single neural-cable dangling down from the ceiling just off to the side. "I think there may be a more expedient way to do this."

"Yeah, how's that?"

"I jack in," Elsa held the neural cable in her hands and showed it to Anna.

"Ah, naturally," Anna said then walked up to Elsa with concern on her face. "You ready?"

Elsa nodded firmly. "Ready."

She sat down in the chair, then brushed her hair off to the side to expose the left side of her neck. Once she jacked in, her eyes turned white as they rolled into the back of her head and she became eerily still, which frightened Anna.

"Elsa?" Anna asked softly as she laid a hand on her shoulder. "Elsa, you okay?"

No response came but instead, a large screen appeared in front of them from thin air, showing a massive overlay with a nearly endless amount of data that measured in the zettabytes. Whatever Elsa was doing, she was sorting and sifting through file after file until she found the one she was searching for; Project SNOW.

An unremarkable file folder appeared on the screen, which Elsa accessed and then brought up a collection of files dating as far back to 2046. Starting from the earliest data packet, Elsa traced the very beginnings of Project SNOW. Together, she and Anna began to read the entry.

> _Today my father died. He was only 60 years old._
> 
> _Mathias Rosenthal founded the company, he built VanirCorp from nothing and today, he died like nothing. Such a great mind, to become robbed of everything. His intelligence, his personality, even his memories, all vanished before him._
> 
> _The worst part of it all was watching it happen. He knew what was happening to him. Early-Onset Alzheimer's, and there wasn't anything he could do about it. No technology, no medicine, no miracle in the world despite the countless ones he gave could save him._
> 
> _At the very end, he didn't even recognize me anymore. His own son._
> 
> _The company's fallen into my hands and I'll do what I can to live up to his legacy. If this affliction is genetic, the same thing will happen to me eventually. There has to be a reason for it all, I just can't let my father's death and my life be for nothing._
> 
> _I've started talking with Rufus about a new research opportunity. We're thinking of calling it Project SNOW._

"Huh," Anna muttered to herself.

Elsa flicked through a few more data packets, sorting through countless others until she came upon another one of interest, from the year 2049.

> _I have a daughter._
> 
> _We've decided to name her Matilda. She's a beautiful, fragile little thing. I can't help but think that we all are. When she comes of age, she'll assume control of the company. I just wish I'll live long enough to see it._
> 
> _Right now, my mind's as sharp as it ever was. I can recall every single detail of her face, right down to each of the white hairs on her head. I know, the day will come when I won't be able to anymore._
> 
> _Project SNOW has hit a few snags. Androids are responding well to memory implantation and best of all, they're retaining them. The only issue is producing the same results in humans, of which we have a considerable lack of voluntary subjects. Even then, with the ones we have been able to run trials on, memory retention is the problem._
> 
> _It seems that when you plant false memories inside someone's head, it conflicts with the ones that already exist there, leading to dissociation, psychosis, and insanity. Rufus has put his foot down. It's 'unethical,' he says._
> 
> _I'm inclined to agree with him._

The screen changed once more and Elsa settled on another packet, dated from 2077.

> _Dad finally died today. Only 56 years old._
> 
> _Early-Onset Alzheimer's. Just like grandad._
> 
> _I held his hand as he breathed his last, and just for a second before he passed on, it looked like he might have recognized me. I hope he did. He tried to say something but I couldn't really hear him. It might have been Snow White, or Matty. He always liked to call me by those names._
> 
> _My daughter will be born soon. I've decided to call her Eleanor._
> 
> _Wherever you are dad, I hope you're at peace._
> 
> _I miss you, and I love you._

Anna looked away and shifted on her feet uncomfortably. Meanwhile, Elsa brought up the next file, dated at a later point in that same year.

> _My daughter died today._
> 
> _She wasn't even a year old. By the end of it all she was so frail and so weak._
> 
> _In a way, I'm almost glad she died before she got a chance to know life. She didn't even get to walk her first steps, or speak her first words. So many firsts that she missed out on, but perhaps its for the better._
> 
> _This family is cursed. The same thing that killed dad and grandad will kill me too. I just know it._
> 
> _I've started going over dad's old files on Project SNOW. Rufus is going to help me restart it, he has to. If I can find a way to prevent this, if I can find a cure, it won't all be for nothing._
> 
> _Dad and grandad wouldn't have died for nothing. Eleanor wouldn't have died for nothing._
> 
> _My sweet baby girl, goodbye, Eleanor. Mommy will always love you, even if I forget about you, even if I can't remember your face, I will always love you._

The next packet after that was dated from a few years later, but contained no logs. Instead, it held a laundry list detailing hundreds of failures of memory experimentation with androids and humans. More disconcerting was a large list of 'donors' taken in for trial testing. There were names, physiological and psychological profiles, and notable genetic traits that made them more desirable. Each one of them were either declared as harvested or died in testing.

Anna balked at the sheer magnitude of people who had been killed by VanirCorp in the name of science and progress. As noble and even sympathetic as their goals had been when they first started, it was clear that Project SNOW took a darker turn when Matilda assumed control of the company.

Elsa opened another packet from the year 2086, the same year that Nora died. As soon as Anna read the packet date, she immediately stiffened as her blood ran cold and her breath caught in her throat.

> _We've finally turned up an interesting donor today._
> 
> _Little girl, age of 12. Recently emigrated from Los Angeles. No information of any kind and the transport authorities believe she may have been travelling with forged documents. In short, she doesn't exist in any system or database so nobody will come looking for her._
> 
> _I'm told that she was travelling with a companion, but it appears that they've been apprehended and turned over to the care of the state. Not that it matters, I think this one might finally be the one we need._
> 
> _She has a unique genetic mutation, something that we've never seen before. Her cells are in remarkable condition and display almost no signs of degradation due to radiation exposure. Not like all the other donors we've come across. This one is special. She's not immune in the conventional sense. That's not possible._
> 
> _Life on earth exists because all organisms are capable of DNA and cell replication, a process that radiation destroys. For whatever reason, it seems that this girl's body can repair cell damage at a rate far faster than the ordinary human, making her highly resilient to the perils of radiation poisoning. Doctor Ishtar believes it may be some kind of hybridized form of radiosynthesis; that she's drawing energy from it somehow._
> 
> _In any case, she's certainly special. The key we need to push onto the next phase of Project SNOW may very well lie within her genetic blueprint. With it, I can create the next generation of androids that will also serve as the ideal testbed for memory experimentation._
> 
> _I've already come up with a name; Enhanced Learning Systems Android._
> 
> _Or, just Elsa for short. It has a nice ring to it._

"No, no no no," Anna shook her head in disbelief as she finished reading the log.

She glanced down at Elsa and noticed that her nose had begun to bleed from both nostrils. Anna had seen her nosebleeds before, but she had never seen Elsa bleed this much. It was a startling indication of the truth they were both now beginning to learn.

As if it wasn't clear enough already, all further doubt of the truth was pushed from Anna's mind when the next packet appeared on the screen. It was a video file and in it, a familiar person was lying on her back on a cold and unfeeling surgery table.

"No, god, no. It can't be," Anna shuddered. "Nora?"

It was Nora, who was still and quiet and pale with death. Her eyes were closed, but her chestnut locks were flared out around her head. In the center of her chest, directly over her heart, was an unmistakable wound that she had received from the android who killed her. She was surrounded by a team of doctors, who began to speak among themselves as they prepared the procedure to harvest Nora of everything she had.

> _We're rolling. Are we ready to begin?_
> 
> _Yes, Doctor Ishtar._
> 
> _Good. We'll start with her brain. We need to get that on ice straight away and send it over to the neural team. Doctor Rosenthal wants her gray matter analyzed for replication viability as soon as possible._
> 
> _And the rest of her organs, doctor?_
> 
> _Standard procedure, except for the heart. Preop scan shows that it's pierced straight through and too damaged to be of any use. As if that wasn't obvious enough already when we brought her in._
> 
> _It was an android that shot her, right? With a flechette rifle?_
> 
> _That's right._
> 
> _Tsk. What a shame._
> 
> _Let's cut the chatter. Rosenthal wants results._
> 
> _Yes, doctor. Of course._

Anna looked away, squeezed her eyes shut and placed her hands over her ears as she tried to block out all sight and sound of the awful truth. Her knees had turned to jelly, so she buckled and dropped to the ground. Still, she could hear the sounds of bonesaws and plasma cutters revving up as the doctors performed the heinous operation of stripping Nora of her parts to be used for their evil designs.

There was no denying the truth any longer. Nora had been Elsa's donor. That meant by a technicality, Elsa was Anna's sister.

Anna should have been surprised, but in honesty, she wasn't. She already had her suspicions from earlier on but she had hoped against hope that it wasn't true. With every fiber of her being, Anna had prayed that all of Elsa's and Nora's similarities were just a bizarre coincidence. A simple billion to one cosmic fluke, but it wasn't and it never had been. The truth was right there in front of Anna all along and she had chosen to ignore it on the impossible chance that there was another explanation for everything. It was a fool's hope and a naïve dream.

She felt sick. The blood was rushing to her head, her muscles had seized up and refused to move, and as much as she fought to block out the sounds of the video file as it continued to play out, she could still hear it.

"No, _no_!" Anna screamed in an attempt to block out the noise as tears streamed down from her eyes. "I knew it, I should have… I know it's real… I _know_ it's real," she buried her face in her hands and rubbed her eyes before taking a deep, shaky breath in a vain attempt to calm herself.

Overwhelmed by anguish at the final revelation of Nora's fate and fury at those responsible for orchestrating these horrendous events, Anna struggled to her feet and lashed out. She kicked a nearby terminal and then punched it with her cybernetic arm, cracking the flimsy metal frame in half.

"God… _DAMN_ IT!" Anna roared with sorrowful rage, then fell to her knees once more.

In the meantime, Elsa had closed the screen and disconnected from the mainframe. She looked over in a daze towards Anna, then fell alongside her as they both realized just who she was.

"Anna?" Elsa croaked, her own eyes streaming with tears. "Anna."

Her nose was still bleeding, dripping tiny and immaculate drops of her blood, her lifeforce, and her essence which had been taken from Nora, onto the floor.

Anna looked up, and in her mind she saw both Nora and Elsa before her. But it simply couldn't be. It should have been impossible for anything to be two things at once. It flew directly in the face of one of the fundamental axioms of reasoning, logic, and thought. Yet, Elsa was just that. She was a being that existed outside of causality, outside of suppositions that up to this point, Anna had lived her entire life by.

She was Nora and Elsa, two minds occupying the same body. It was the source of Elsa's condition, the dissociation that she felt, the memories she still kept, and the reason why Anna had felt so drawn to her from the very beginning.

"You- you're… you're _Nora,_ " Anna said in a tone that was laced with bereaved finality. "You're my _sister._ "


	30. Truth and Consequence

* * *

"You're my _sister._ "

That simple sentence uttered by Anna had unlocked the final mystery of the identity of Elsa's donor and exactly who she had been in her previous life. In a dizzying flash, Elsa witnessed all of the fragmented memories inside of her mind piece themselves back together as realization and understanding finally dawned upon her.

Elsa was with Anna that day when they stood upon the cliff overlooking the city they had been born in. The same eyes that saw the wind blowing through her red hair and the sunlight shining down upon them were the same eyes that she was looking at Anna with now. Elsa was with Anna that day when they ate their last meal together in an old shipping container. Even now, she could recall the familiar scent and smell of the instant ramen they had shared. Elsa had been there the entire time, accompanying Anna throughout her first life, living with her, being with her, surviving with her. Except she wasn't Elsa yet back then, she was only Nora.

What Anna said was correct, she was indeed her sister. Elsa had been built from the genetic blueprint that Nora provided, and so, she now had the answer to her life's riddle that she had been seeking. As her mind cleared, Elsa felt a lingering ache in the back of her mind which soon disappeared. She touched her fingers to her nose and was unsurprised to find that she was bleeding again.

_I should have known,_ Elsa thought. _It all makes sense now._

She was feeling deeply conflicted. On one hand, part of Elsa held the same suspicions that Anna did, but without concrete evidence, there was just no way to tell. That part of her actually hoped it was true, for having Anna as her sister was the vital tether she needed to remind herself of her humanity. Yet, on the other hand, now they had finally uncovered the truth, Elsa found herself wishing it had been anything but the one she wanted.

Anna was her sister, which meant that their relationship up to this point was highly inappropriate. That much on its own would be damning, but Elsa and Anna had made love together. The complications of incest notwithstanding, Elsa now had to find a way to deal with the fact that her two lives had always revolved around Anna. The first was when she lived as Nora, and the second was when she was resurrected as Elsa.

"Anna," Elsa started, but she couldn't even think of what to say next. "I-"

Mercifully on cue, Elsa was suddenly interrupted by a blaring alarm that sounded out as the entire archive chamber became bathed in flashing red lights. Behind them, the blast doors to the archive slowly began to slide shut while all around, an automated voice blasted out over an intercom as it repeated its message over and over.

_Warning. Unauthorized archive access detected. Deploying countermeasures._

"Anna! We need to go," Elsa shouted as she pulled the unresponsive red-haired woman to her feet. "Come on!"

Anna said nothing as she looked around in a daze. When her eyes finally settled upon Elsa, they were clouded over with a storm of emotions raging within. Unfortunately, what they learned would have to be discussed later. Right now, they had to escape.

Acting for her, Elsa grabbed Anna's hand and began leading them out as they ran towards the exit. The blast doors were closing fast but the pair managed to cross the threshold just as doors sealed shut behind them. All around them, the red lights continued to flash as the alarms sounded, drowning out any room for thought in either of their heads as survival instinct took over and guided their actions.

_Warning. Intruders detected. Deploying neurotoxin._

A thick green vapor began to pour out of vents in the walls and ceiling, filling the air with the deadly gas. While there was still a considerable amount of breathable air remaining, Elsa and Anna would surely perish within if they lingered. They had to reach the exit, fast. Within minutes, the entire complex would be filled with the neurotoxin.

Hand in hand, they ran through the complex, leaping over piles of slain androids as they backtracked the way they came. Before long, the air gradually became tinted with the green noxious gas and Anna's breathing became noticeably more labored. Still, they pushed on until they returned to the elevator that they had entered from and raced towards it.

Thankfully, the elevator remained operational and as soon as they entered, Elsa reached down and repeatedly pressed the button to close the doors until it finally slid shut, separating them from the poison that was filling the android research sector. Just after, they began to ascend and since the elevator wasn't connected to the central ventilation system, they had a brief window to catch their breath in the small pocket of breathable air.

Anna still hadn't said anything, which worried Elsa. Her eyes were wild and focused. She looked deeply lost, incredibly saddened but most of all, she looked like she was waging a war inside her own head as she undoubtedly was trying to make sense of everything they learned. Elsa felt the same, but at the moment, she had to stay focused on getting them out of Gjallarbrú alive first.

Once the elevator came to a stop and they stepped out in the circular foyer once more, they could see more of the neurotoxin being pumped in from high above. Taking hold of Anna's hand, Elsa drew her along as they sprinted through the foyer, returning to the entrance where they had parked their truck. However, as they made their way through, they found that all the doorways had now been sealed due to the lockdown.

Instead, a side passage had opened in the alcove of a nearby wall, above which sat a flashing blue emergency light that caught their attention. Adjusting their course, Elsa and Anna raced towards it and piled into the narrow space, running along through a service tunnel that circumvented the initial decontamination chambers that they passed through when they first arrived. Their new route began to slope upwards, taking them a higher point inside the facility where they eventually came upon a parking area.

In front of them lay a single skycar emblazoned with the emblem of an executive VanirCorp manager. Beyond that was a hangar door that was controlled by a single terminal off to the side.

By now, Anna had begun coughing and Elsa could feel her own lungs having increasing difficulty in drawing breath. The neurotoxin was beginning to affect them and before long, they would succumb to it.

With no time to waste, Elsa pointed towards the skycar while she started towards the terminal. "Anna, get that started! I'll open the doors."

Anna snapped back to reality and nodded, then covered her mouth with the collar of her long-coat while she went over to deal with their escape vehicle. In the meantime, Elsa hurriedly interfaced with the terminal which flashed a warning that due to the security lockdown, the hangar doors were to remain closed. However, there was an option to override it which required the keycard of an overseer, one that Elsa still possessed.

She swiped it through the slot in the side then smashed her fist on the accept option. Seconds later, the hangar doors began to open and evening light poured in through the gaps, exposing the parking area to the radioactive world outside. Elsa did not worry however, for she now knew the truth of what had made her so special.

Anna on the other hand, was not. Elsa turned on her feet and looked for Anna, who had now entered the skycar and was rapidly flicking on dials and switches as she started it. As soon as the lights came on, Anna poked her head out the door and hurriedly waved over to Elsa, all while keeping her hand firmly clamped over her mouth and nose. Elsa ran the rest of the way towards the skycar and jumped in, allowing Anna to shut the door which closed with a hiss, hermetically sealing them inside and protecting them from the radiation.

With that, Anna punched in their destination heading and allowed the autopilot to take over as they took off and rocketed out of Gjallarbrú. Soon, they were flying through the air above the wastelands and the facility was now a rapidly shrinking speck behind them.

Finally safe, Elsa and Anna caught their breath as they settled into their seats. A tense silence had overcome them and with nothing else to do they both retreated into their thoughts.

Gjallarbrú was now far behind them but the secret it contained was now revealed. Ahead of them was the city and home, as well as the truth and the consequences of it that they would have to face.

… … …

A journey that had taken them days mostly on foot, only took the better part of an hour in their new transportation. With the appearance of an executive skycar, they were not harassed by the police and they were let through the checkpoints around the city with no issue.

The larger issue currently lay between Elsa and Anna. Neither of them had said a word since they arrived back, nor did they speak to each other when they finally returned to Anna's apartment. Not a word when they stepped wearily through Anna's apartment door and Elsa quietly shut it behind them. Not a word when they removed their bags and set their weapons on the kitchen counter. Not a word when Anna shrugged her long-coat and set it on its usual place on her couch. Not a word when Anna sighed heavily then sat down on her couch and buried her face in her hands.

Elsa carefully walked over and sat down in the easy chair, quietly observing Anna from across the coffee table. Despite how much closer they had become, and despite learning of their sisterhood, Elsa decided it was best to maintain her distance. Even so, the short gap between them felt as if it were a limitless ocean that could not be crossed.

"Anna? Elsa asked softly. "Anna, talk to me."

"And say what?" Anna replied as she raised her face from her hands, revealing that she had been weeping. "Tell me, Els- Nora. Fuck! I don't even know what I'm supposed to call you now!"

She stood up from the couch and began to pace rapidly back and forth, after several moments of which she paused, looked over to Elsa and gestured in exasperation.

"Don't you get it?! That was Nora they found, she's the one who gave you your… your genetic whatever! Nora was your donor, they used her DNA to make you," Anna stepped up to Elsa and pointed her finger at her. "I know it was her on that table. I know Nora's face, I could recognize her anywhere! They cut her up and they made _you_!"

Elsa recoiled and shrunk back in her seat.

Anna resumed pacing as she nestled her hands into her hair and started hyperventilating. Tried as she might to keep her tears in check, Anna was sobbing uncontrollably.

"You know what this means don't you? That means we're sisters, but that's not even the worst part!" Anna paused and gestured up and down towards Elsa. "You and I, we… we… well you know what we did!" she looked away from Elsa, unable to face her. "We _fucked,_ and that's not okay! None of this is okay!"

"Anna, please," Elsa said carefully as she stood up and walked towards Anna slowly. "This… I couldn't have expected this either. How were we supposed to know?"

"Didn't we though?" Anna countered. "We talked about it, I remember. Even when I saw you for the very first time, I thought I was looking at a ghost! I should have known then. But that didn't stop us from… stop _me_ from doing what I did to you. I didn't- I mean I hoped that it couldn't be true, but maybe I did know, I just didn't want to see it. You don't understand, this is the last thing that I could have wanted. I mean, sure… I wanted my sister back, but not like this! Not with you!" she whimpered.

Elsa's eyes widened from a mixture of shock and hurt. "We can figure this out. This doesn't have to be the end of-"

"End of what?" Anna said as she stepped forward and squared her feet at Elsa. "Wh- whatever this is?! Even if we both still want it, even if _I_ want it, it can't happen. We can't just sweep this all under the rug, we can't just forget about it!"

Anna looked away then as she had caught the errant slip of her tongue. Elsa had too, so she took another step closer and looked Anna dead in the eye.

"Even if _you_ want it?" Elsa asked slowly and deliberately.

Anna glanced up and backed away. "Nor- Elsa! No, don't… please."

"Because I want it. I still do, even after everything."

"What? How in the hell could you say that? What part of we're _sisters_ don't you understand?"

Elsa took another step forward, but Anna didn't back away this time. "I understand _you_. You lost Nora when you were young, far too young, and your life has been nothing but pain ever since."

Anna folded her arms over her chest and glanced away, but couldn't avoid Elsa's searchful gaze.

"They took her from you, took everything from you just as they took everything from her and they made me. I'm sorry, I really am. If I could be someone else, I would be. If I could trade places with her and give you back Nora, I would. In an instant. But they didn't give me that choice, they didn't give Nora that choice, and they didn't give you that choice."

Anna released a shaky breath and sat back on the couch, fighting against her stubborn tears while she wiped them away.

Elsa sat down next to her and sighed heavily. "I don't know what to call myself either. All my memories, they're hers and they always have been. I remember now, Anna. I remember you and I know you. I've always known you. So, maybe this is a second chance… for you, for me, both of us. To be together again, to be whole. Yes, we… _fucked,_ but I don't regret it. I can't."

"How can you not regret it?" Anna murmured miserably. "It wasn't okay what I did. I practically forced myself on you!"

Elsa leaned forward and shuffled closer to Anna. "Because you needed to feel something real, just as I needed to feel something real. I didn't even know how much I wanted you until you kissed me. Anna, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me in my entire second life. I don't know where I'd be without you, but all I know is that there's nothing more important to me in the world than _you."_

Elsa took a risk and reached outward and gently laid her hand on top of Anna's.

"I would do anything for you, do you understand?" Elsa said firmly. "So, when we did what we did, I realized that you were everything I ever wanted or needed. I never used to think that I was human, but you… you make me feel like I am. When you held me in your arms, I felt you and you felt me and it felt _right_. Like I was where I belonged, where I was supposed to be."

Anna looked over to her and for a moment, their faces were so close to each other that Elsa could feel each one of Anna's fearful breaths as they came in and out. Meanwhile, Anna's eyes were round and shimmering, yet underneath lay a pool of hope so delicate that it could vanish at any second.

"The only thing that I want is to make you feel the same way you've made me feel. I just want to take away all your pain and all your hurt and all your sadness. I want to give you what you've given me," Elsa smiled her and Nora's signature dimpled, crooked smile. "Hope. You chose to help me, you saved me. You made me believe that I'm more than just a machine, that I'm real."

Elsa took another risk and leaned a little further in, closing her eyes as she attempted to close the distance and bring their lips together in a gesture that could express everything she was feeling. However, Anna recoiled sharply and that hope was snuffed out of her eyes like a candle light.

"No, no!" Anna exclaimed as she stood up from the couch. "No, it can't be like this! It just can't!" her eyes were red with tears as she sobbed. "I wanted this with Elsa, but I can't have it with Nora!"

Elsa felt a pit of woeful despair form inside her heart as she fell slack and deflated into the couch. "Then what can we do?" she asked delicately.

"I- I… I don't know," Anna wiped her eyes angrily once more then looked over towards the kitchen. "I can't think right now, I can't look at you right now. I need a fucking drink," she huffed then started making her way towards her liquor cabinet.

"Anna, this isn't a problem that you can just drink away until you forget about it!" Elsa said as her despair was replaced with anger and she followed after Anna. "You have to face this! _We_ have to face this! You can't hide and you can't run from me!"

"The hell I can. Try me," Anna replied as she glared at Elsa.

Neither of them said anything and in that brief standoff, Anna reached into her liquor cabinet and pulled down a bottle of whiskey that was still a quarter full. With a final challenging stare, Anna twisted off the cap and held the bottle to her lips, upending the thing entirely as she gulped down the strong alcohol.

Anna didn't stop drinking until the bottle was empty and when she downed the last drop, she let it fall to the kitchen floor where it shattered to pieces.

Elsa stepped forward into the kitchen. "Anna," she started.

"Els- Nor… just, no," Anna held up a finger then turned away and scowled at the mess on the floor. "Shit… _shit_! Of fucking course. There's never enough around whenever I need it the fucking most!"

With a heavy beleaguered sigh, Anna brushed past Elsa as she retrieved her long-coat and donned it as she started for the door. Sensing her intention and fearing that she may very well try to drink herself to death, Elsa lunged forward and grabbed Anna's right hand to stop her.

"Anna, no. We have to talk this through," Elsa said firmly. "Alcohol isn't what you need right now."

"Let me go," Anna attempted to pull her hand free, but Elsa's strength wouldn't allow her to. "I said, let me _go_!"

"No," Elsa shook her head while hot tears made tracks down her face. "I won't let you leave."

With her cybernetic arm, Anna pulled her right hand free then turned away from Elsa to hide the anger and sadness etched into her face. Still, Elsa was persistent and the next thing she did was physically block the door by standing in front of it.

"Move!" Anna shouted as she reached for the handle. "I'm not playing games, get out of the way!"

"Don't do this," Elsa pleaded. "I'm begging you, Anna. Just stay with me, _please_."

Anna laid her cybernetic arm gently on Elsa's shoulder. "I said," she shoved her aside with enough force to dent the wall next to them. "Get out of the _goddamn_ way!"

Surprised by the strength and ferocity of the blow, Elsa gasped in pain and fell to her knees while Anna ripped the door open. Just before she stepped out into the hallway, she glanced over her shoulder and for a moment, her features were overcome with grief and regret for hurting Elsa.

Anna opened her mouth to say something and even moved forward to assist Elsa, however after another second she thought better of it and turned around. She started to walk away from Elsa in a hurry.

Elsa immediately rose to her feet and started to give chase, but feeling as despaired and heartbroken as she was, she let Anna go. Still, she called out after her in a vain attempt to get her to stay.

"Anna!" Elsa sobbed. "Please."

Anna spared Elsa a final longing look over her shoulder. Her eyes were filled with sorrow and heartache and Elsa knew Anna was in as much pain as she was. She hesitated for another moment, then turned away.

"I- I'm sorry," Anna said, then turned around a corner and disappeared from sight.

At that, Elsa collapsed to the floor back inside Anna's apartment and buried her face in her hands, weeping bitter tears.

… … …

Some time later, Elsa was lying curled up into a ball on Anna's bed. She wasn't sure when or how she had ended up there, but that was where she was now and as much as it hurt her to be there, Elsa didn't really feel like going anywhere else right now.

Everywhere she looked she was reminded of Anna. Everything she touched and smelled and felt had been completely infused with Anna's essence that no matter what she tried, there was no escaping it. Most powerful of all was Anna's scent that was ingrained into the fibers of everything in her room. That familiar and comforting scent of oranges, peach blossoms, and cloves. Instead of trying to run from her feelings like Anna was, Elsa embraced them fully and let them wash over her in cascading waves of fear, hope, longing, and regret.

By now, her tears had long dried but that didn't mean she was feeling any better. In fact, Elsa was feeling worse because she had no idea where Anna was or if she was safe. As much as Elsa wanted to go after her, she feared what Anna would do if she wasn't allowed to leave. She knew she couldn't try contacting her because Anna had disabled the calling and messaging functions of her omni-pad before they left the city. Additionally, they were back in New York now, back inside the city where they had a six million credit bounty on their heads. If Elsa had pursued Anna, she risked putting her in danger. So, Elsa was faced with no other choice but to let Anna go and desperately hope that she would return.

Until then, Elsa would stay right where she was in Anna's bed.

"I'm Nora," Elsa said to herself aloud, tasting the name on her tongue until it became familiar to herself. "Nora, that's who my donor was. That's who I am," she rose up from Anna's bed and laid her back against the headboard while she stared off into space. "And I have a sister. Anna is my sister," she squeezed her eyes shut to halt the flow of tears that threatened to break loose once more. "What am I going to do?"

Wiping her nose, Elsa expected to find blood there but there was none. She recalled bleeding earlier back in Gjallarbrú when they discovered the truth. At some point since then, it must have stopped and Elsa couldn't be sure when.

It was also at that moment that Elsa realized she hadn't experienced one of her episodes in a long time. Usually, whenever she experienced her flashes they were accompanied by a mild headache and the bleeding from her nose. Those events only occurred whenever Elsa felt or saw something that was tied to Nora, but now, she felt nothing. In the same regard, Elsa surmised that being near Anna was the catalyst for it all.

Before, Elsa's episodes became more and more frequent and severe as time went on. Without knowing the cause for them, VanirCorp's only solution was to reset Elsa which would only forestall the deterioration of her cognitive functions. Dissociation, mental instability, and eventual death were all the clinical afflictions that Elsa had come to expect and yet, none of them came. Since meeting and travelling with Anna, Elsa had been stabilized and she felt none of expected symptoms which she should have succumbed to by now.

Especially now that Elsa had finally learned the truth, when she thought of Nora things simply became rather clear and obvious to her.

"Of course," Elsa chuckled dryly to herself. "Of course, I'm Nora. Of course, Anna is my sister. I've known all along, I just didn't realize it. I've always known Anna, I just didn't recognize her."

This clarity of consciousness however, did not let Elsa think rationally and objectively when it came to her relationship with Anna.

"What we did was inappropriate, that's true," Elsa sighed. "But does it really matter? I'm only her sister by a technicality and I don't feel any different. I still feel like Elsa, but I know I'm Nora. How is it possible to be two people at once? How much of me is Elsa and how much of me is Nora?"

Elsa sighed and opened her eyes. She was paying the price now for learning the truth and she knew the worst of it was yet to come. Elsa hadn't forgotten the deal she made with their mysterious benefactor at Gjallarbrú. There was no way to confirm that anyone had been listening at all, but the sheer amount of lucky coincidences that they came across one after another could not have been random strokes of good fortune alone.

It was simply too dangerous and arrogant to assume that anyone from VanirCorp hadn't been listening in on Elsa while she made her plea. She had offered her own life in exchange for the opportunity to save Anna's and she did. She was successful and Anna lived. Now, the karmic scales had to return to the balancing point and Elsa knew that sooner or later, she would have to pay the price. They couldn't stay on the run forever and Elsa had already uprooted Anna's life from its very foundations, so she wouldn't let any further harm come to the her if she could prevent it.

Still, Elsa did not regret her decision at all. Her gamble had paid off and in the process of saving Anna, she rediscovered her own humanity.

In just the span of a few days she had learned and seen and felt more things about the world then she ever had in her entire life. Anna had shown Elsa that she was more than just an android and more than just a plaything that was created by people who decided to play god. Elsa was alive, she was real, and she was human. And that was enough for her.

When the time came, Elsa would hand herself over willingly. All that was important and good to her was Anna, nothing else mattered.

Having finally achieved peace through discovery of the truth, Elsa rose from Anna's bed to compose a message for her. She knew that at any time, VanirCorp would come for her so she had to make the most of the time she had left.

Elsa brought up her omni-pad and began to write.

Once she finished her message, Elsa removed the omni-pad from her arm and set it to display mode before putting it on the nightstand so that Anna could read it as soon as she returned. Again, this was all precautionary as Elsa may yet be there to deliver the message, but again, she may not.

Anna still had not yet returned, but Elsa held out hope. With nothing else to do but wait for the inevitable, she laid her head to rest back in bed and closed her eyes, eventually falling asleep in the warm embrace of Anna's essence which wrapped itself around her completely, filling her body, mind, and soul.

… … …

Hours later, as if by an extraordinary stroke of good or bad fortune, Elsa was awoken by the sound of someone knocking at the door.

She raced out of Anna's bed and made for the door, hoping that it was her red-haired lover and not the reaper come to collect his due. As she reached for the doorknob, an awful realization came over her.

_Anna wouldn't knock at the door of her own apartment,_ Elsa thought.

She glanced behind herself and was suddenly overcome with doubt and anxious fear.

_I should run, there's still time. I should find Anna and get away from here, get far far away from here. Maybe off-world?_

The knock came again, politely but a little more urgently.

_No, I can't. I don't even know where to find her and I'll be putting her in danger. I can't risk it. The only way to make sure she's safe is by… going home._

Elsa shut her eyes and took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Taking one last look around Anna's apartment, Elsa dedicated as much of it to her memory as possible. She wanted to remember - more than anything else - everything that was Anna.

"Goodbye, Anna," Elsa whispered, then she opened the door.

In front of her stood a smiling man with auburn hair and sharp green eyes, dressed in a clean white business suit. Surrounding him was an armed escort consisting of androids and cybernetically enhanced humans alike.

"Hello, Elsa," the man said politely as he stepped aside and gestured for her to come along. "Why don't you come with us? Miss Rosenthal is expecting you."


	31. Fleeting Joy

* * *

Anna made her way over to elevator, only to find that the thing was temporarily closed for maintenance.

"Fucking stupid useless piece of shit!" Anna cursed as she pounded her metal fist against the elevator door hard enough to dent it.

With her head spinning and upset as she was, Anna had come up with a ravenous thirst and she was in no mood to be trifled with. Turning away from the elevators, Anna walked towards the stairwell and began to hurriedly descend. As she walked she found that the repetitive physical action of it had a calming effect, which only frustrated her further.

She paused at a landing and leaned her head over the railing, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to block out any further thought. However, her own mind had other plans and betrayed her by replaying the conversation she had just shared with Elsa, or Nora.

_Even if we both still want it, even if I want it, it can't happen._

Anna leaned over and laid her forehead against the cold metal railing, tapping it repeatedly to try and shake the thoughts free from her mind.

_I wanted this with Elsa, but I can't have it with Nora!_

Anna bashed her forehead against the railing and straightened up, temporarily dazed by her blow. It hadn't done anything at all to make her feel better and in fact, she was just feeling worse now.

She recalled the way she shoved Elsa aside hard enough to hurt her. Anna hadn't meant to do that. It was the last thing she wanted to do, but she often forgot the strength of her new arm now which in itself was a flimsy excuse. In truth, Anna was just angry and hurt and confused on multiple different layers and she had no idea what to do next.

"Why did it have to be her?" Anna groaned miserably. "Why did they have to take Nora, they could have used anyone else, why her?"

Anna straightened up and wiped her eyes. It was a useless line of questioning, for she knew exactly what had made Nora so special which was the same reason why Elsa could walk through a radiation cloud unharmed.

"I didn't want to hurt you," Anna whimpered. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry."

She bit her right fist hard enough to draw blood while her body was wracked by grief and shook with sobs. When she finally regained her composure, Anna sniffed and wiped her eyes, then descended the rest of the way towards the ground floor. There, she stepped out of a side exit of the apartment building and started walking down the familiar city streets of New York.

Night had fallen upon the city and a brisk chill was on the air, carried forth by gentle winds. It wasn't raining tonight, but the clouds overhead were laden with precipitation of a different type. Winter was nearly upon them now and Anna could feel the beginnings of its first snowfall.

Buttoning up her long-coat and drawing the collar around her face, Anna pressed onward. Despite the fact that the left sleeve only now covered the upper part of her arm, leaving the metal frame of her cybernetic limb exposed, Anna didn't mind the cold. It was refreshing and rejuvenating in a way, something which helped to settle her nerves. But, it wasn't the type of relief that Anna was craving most at this moment, so she wandered aimlessly through the streets until she came upon a liquor stand.

Anna approached the vendor with a casual wave and stepped up to the stand. "Hey, you got any booze?" she asked.

The vendor - who was a remarkably young boy - peered up at Anna with inquisitive eyes and nodded his head enthusiastically. "Sure do, lady! Got your fixes right here," he gestured towards a wide array of bottles. "Vodka, tequila, gin, also got some hooch from my own recipe! Ask anyone, it's the best stuff around! You wanna try? First sample's always free!" he offered as he held up a small glass bottle filled with clear fluid.

"No thanks," Anna shook her head. "I'll take a bottle of whiskey."

The vendor boy shrugged and smiled amicably. "Suit yourself, just let me get it for ya," he reached over and selected a bottle of Anna's preferred alcohol then placed it on the stall before her. "Fifty credits."

"Here's sixty," Anna said as she transferred over the credits and took up the bottle. "Thanks, kid. Stay out of trouble," she turned around and started walking away.

"Woah, gee thanks, lady!" the boy beamed. "Have a nice night!"

With her new purchase in hand, Anna wandered on through the streets until she found a quiet and secluded alley where she could drink alone in peace. She walked over to an overturned barrel and sat down in the quiet dark solitude and sighed heavily. Her shopping trip had only offered a temporary distraction and reprieve from the thoughts inside her head but now that she was alone once more, they returned in full force.

Anna recalled how heartbroken Elsa had looked when she left her. She didn't want to, but she didn't know what else to do. Part of Anna wanted to kiss and make love to Elsa, and another part of her wanted to hug and hold Nora. Both parts wanted that so badly and Anna was torn between them both. She had never meant to hurt Elsa and it twisted a knife in her own heart to see how much anguish she was putting her through, but Anna couldn't look at her without seeing her sister.

 _What am I going to do?_ Anna thought as she absentmindedly read the label of her bottle of whiskey to distract herself. _She's my sister… technically. Elsa wasn't born, not in the normal way. She didn't share a womb with me like Nora did, but… they're still the same person._

With a heavy sigh, Anna unscrewed the cap of the bottle and raised it to her lips when the scent of the alcohol suddenly hit her and she nearly retched. She was overcome with a sudden wave of nausea that had hit her from nowhere. By now, Anna had built up a substantial tolerance to drink given how many years she had been nursing at a bottle, but now she felt ill at the mere sight of it, even more so at the thought of stomaching it.

"Ugh," Anna gagged. "What the hell?"

Deciding that perhaps it was the drink itself and not Anna's crisis of conscience, she took a tentative sip then spat out the foul liquid immediately. There was nothing wrong with the whiskey, but it was the taste which Anna inexplicably found revolting now. Angrily, she hucked the bottle at the wall in front of her, letting it shatter to pieces while she buried her face in her hands.

"What's wrong with me?" Anna moaned.

Responding to her question, a small voice spoke out within Anna's mind.

_Your heart's not in the right place._

"Nora?" Anna asked as she immediately straightened up and whipped around, searching the alley for the voice.

Nobody was there and Anna realized that it was just her thoughts running free once more. She turned her head up to the distant sky above and shut her eyes.

"What do you mean my heart's not in the right place? I helped Elsa, didn't I? She helped me, she really… _really_ helped me, so how can my heart still be in the wrong place? What do I have to do?"

_I- I don't belong here… I'm sorry, I need to go._

Anna opened her eyes, expecting to find Elsa but again, there was nobody else but her in the alley. "She's in the wrong body?" she thought out loud. "Or… maybe she thinks that because she was Nora, she doesn't know where she fits anymore? Is that it?"

_There's a time for us, but it's not now._

Anna frowned and focused her gaze on her hands. "Time," she muttered. "Time, what time could Nora be talking about?"

The voices of Nora and Elsa did not speak again, leaving Anna to resolve this riddle on her own.

"What does she mean?" Anna asked as she stood up and started to pace. "Nora and Elsa are the same person, okay… or… or are they?" she quickened her pace as her mind and thoughts began to coalesce into the answer that she needed. "Time, time… the same person, different times? Or the same time and two different people?"

Anna turned her thoughts to Nora and of the last day they shared together before she died. That day felt like an entire lifetime ago and Anna was a different person then. She was younger, hopeful, and naïve, but she had Nora. They had each other for the time that they did and not a second more. Nora had been dead ever since - not gone altogether perhaps - but no longer with Anna and out of her time.

"There's a time for us… but it's not now."

Next, Anna thought of Elsa and of the short time they had known each other. Ever since they met, Anna's life had been practically turned upside down. They had survived numerous scrapes with death, fought for their very survival, and saved each other's lives time and time again. In reality, Anna had only known Elsa for a little over a week, but to her it felt like forever. It may as well have been, technically.

"I don't belong here," Anna said, echoing Elsa's words that she uttered in her dream. "Because you weren't in the right time."

Anna stopped pacing. Slowly, a smile spread across her face as she finally came upon the answer.

"They were both right," Anna chuckled and turned her gaze up to the night sky once more. "But they were both missing one thing. It was never about being two people in one body at the same time, or about being the same person torn across different times. Nora and Elsa… Elsa and Nora, they're two different people at two different times!"

Anna laughed at herself. Now that it was in front of her, the answer seemed so obvious. The philosophical quandary that she had been struggling with turned out to have a simple answer, at least in her view.

"She's my sister," Anna sighed and nodded. "Yeah, but she may as well be a different person. Elsa isn't Nora, not completely, just like Nora isn't completely Elsa!"

With that knowledge came another revelation that Anna had to come to terms with.

"Nora's gone," Anna muttered sadly. "She's not coming back, and I… I have to let her go. But Elsa's still here. Elsa's still here and she needs my help. I couldn't save Nora but I can save Elsa!"

With this new truth in her mind, it resolved any of the further issues or qualms that Anna had about being with Elsa. To anyone else, it may have seemed like desperate wishful thinking, but that was good enough for Anna. She had lived a hard life, and Elsa had made her feel happiness and warmth and light and hope for the first time in a long time. Now, Anna had a chance to make all of the pain she had endured until now and all of hope she had lost which was now found count for something good and something real.

She had an opportunity to begin again, to dream, to try. And that opportunity was waiting for her back in her apartment.

Anna slapped her forehead. "Stupid, stupid!" she laughed hysterically. "I've been an idiot! Okay… okay, okay, hang tight, Elsa. I'm coming!"

With that, Anna raced out the alley and started running for home, passing by bewildered citizens as she laughed like a madwoman. It didn't matter, nothing else mattered to Anna in this divine moment of clarity but Elsa.

She would run into Elsa's arms, she would kiss her, and hold her tight, and she would never let go again. She lost Nora already, she wasn't about to lose Elsa as well.

Nothing would ever tear them apart again.

… … …

Once Anna arrived back at her apartment, she sprinted up the stairs and down the hallway back towards her apartment. As her door came into sight however, Anna's blood turned to ice in her veins as she immediately sensed that something was terribly wrong.

Her front door had been left ajar, meaning that either Elsa had left or someone else had entered.

"No, oh no," Anna reached for her hand cannon but in her hurry to leave, she had forgotten that she left it behind.

Nonetheless, Anna went through the door of her apartment and began searching around for Elsa.

"Elsa? Hey, Elsa, are you here?" Anna called out. "Hello! Elsa!"

Anna's hand cannon was lying on the kitchen counter where she had left it next to Elsa's sidearm, which was a disconcerting sign. She picked them both up and methodically swept through her apartment, starting with the living room followed by her office. Next, she went over to her bedroom where she found it empty, save for Elsa's omni-pad which had been left on Anna's nightstand.

As Anna went over to it, she realized that Elsa must have intentionally left it there because on the screen was a message that she had left.

> _My Anna,_
> 
> _I'm writing this message to you now in case of the likely event that I'm not there to tell it to you in person._ _Do you remember what you asked me back at Gjallarbrú? About what I said to whoever was listening that was important enough for them to let us in?_
> 
> _I made a deal, Anna._
> 
> _When I brought you to the gates, your life was hanging by a thread. I wasn't sure if anyone was there and I wasn't sure if they even had the equipment to save your life, but I had to take a risk anyways. I couldn't let you die, not after everything you've done for me. It was a simple exchange. I offered them my life in return for the chance to save yours. I told them that if they let me in, if they let me save you, that I would turn myself over willingly._
> 
> _And I did save you._
> 
> _I imagine that you'll be upset with this decision, so allow me to selfishly save your life once more. For as long as you are with me, you will be a target. Together, we could never be safe from VanirCorp. I fear they would hurt you just to try and get to me. I can't let that happen. You're too important to me and I care about you too much._
> 
> _Before I go back to them, I'll make arrangements that you are to be left alone so that you may live in peace. You deserve it more than anyone. I'll make sure of it._
> 
> _I'm sorry, Anna. Everything has a price, I know that now, and I won't let you pay for my sins._
> 
> _I just want you to know that what you've done for me is something that I didn't think could ever happen. You gave me a life, and you gave me my identity back. In the short time that we've known each other, we've been through an extraordinary amount of incredible experiences together. You've saved my life, and I'm glad to say that I was able to save yours._
> 
> _I still don't know if I'm more Nora or Elsa. Maybe it doesn't matter anymore. Perhaps we've become something else entirely._
> 
> _You are my sister, Anna. That's true, but you're also more to me than just that. You mean so much more that I'm not quite sure how to describe it. You make me feel happy, and you make me feel safe, and you make me feel like I exist in the world. When I look at you, nothing else matters to me. When you smile, everything feels right. When you laugh, and I so love it when you laugh, I think things still might be okay._
> 
> _You are my world, my savior, my hope. I only wish you could see yourself the way that I see you. I don't know what love is, but I've heard it described in some of the books I've read. When I think about it, I see you… and I see the potential. It may be unnatural because we're sisters, but it's what I feel. You've shown me that in this world, you survive by taking whatever you can, whenever you can, and you hold on to it tight because it could slip out of your grasp at any moment. I hope you could understand why I've applied the same reasoning here._
> 
> _When I go, I'll remember you, I promise. They'll try and make me forget, but I won't._
> 
> _I wish we had more time together._
> 
> _Your sister._

Halfway through the message, Anna struggled to read and finish it as her vision became blurred through a veil of tears. Once she finished, she tossed the omni-pad on the bed angrily as she started to hyperventilate.

It was clear to her what had happened. Either Elsa had willingly gone back to VanirCorp alone, or they had come for her. Given that her apartment door had been left ajar, Anna hoped that it was the latter and that Elsa was taken involuntarily for once again, she could not fathom how anybody could be so selfless.

"That… fucking… stupid… selfless… idiot!" Anna screamed as she kicked over a nearby pile of her clothing. "How could she do this! To _me_! Doesn't she know what they'll do to her!"

Anna went around kicking things over in her room, then realized that nothing would be solved by fighting her own apartment.

"I'm gonna kill her," Anna said firmly as she sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I swear, I'm gonna kill that beautiful, kind, sweet, _idiot_. No, I'm gonna kiss her first. Right on her stupid face, and then I'm gonna fuck her, and then I'll probably kill her. Yeah."

Forcing herself to think clearly, Anna read over Elsa's message a second time more carefully. She paused when she reached the section near the end where Elsa mentioned that she felt the potential for love, which made Anna's own heart do somersaults in her chest.

"Love? We haven't even known each other for that long yet, how could she…"

When Nora was alive, there was no doubt in Anna's mind that she loved her. Anna loved Nora as a sister, as a best friend, and as her partner who stood by her side against the whole world. That love never died, and if Anna never stopped loving Nora that should have also meant that Anna loved Elsa as well since they were in the same body.

"Do _I_ love Elsa? Well, I don't _not_ love her."

The answer should have been obvious, but whatever Anna did feel for Elsa it was certainly a strong sense of attraction and attachment. If she did love Elsa, it was a different kind of love then the one she had for Nora and one that was aching, yearning, more urgent, and more passionate.

"I gotta find Elsa. I gotta get to her!"

If Anna was going to do that, she had to do something she never once would have entertained the notion of before in her life. She was going to have to break into a secure megacoporation headquarters to free Elsa from imprisonment.

Anna was by no means a spy, or a super soldier, or an action hero. She didn't have a plan, or even had the slightest clue on how to begin forming one. The only thing she knew was that tackling the headquarters of the largest and most powerful megacorporation in New York city was a sure death sentence. But she had to try anyway.

Because Elsa was worth it.

"Shit," Anna muttered. "I'm gonna need a lot of firepower."

She immediately turned around and exited her bedroom, heading for her office where she tore open her gun safe and began pocketing as much ammunition as she could carry. There wasn't much left, so Anna would have to make another shopping trip in a hurry. Once she filled her pockets, she put away her hand cannon and Elsa's sidearm, concealing them on her person. Next, she picked up a few credit chits worth five thousand each and stashed them in the inner pocket of her long-coat.

Afterwards, as she prepared to leave, Anna took a lingering look around her apartment for what could very well be the last time.

"I'm coming, Elsa," Anna muttered. "Don't you worry, I'm coming for you."

Anna turned, and left, shutting the door to her apartment behind her.

… … …

Back in the air inside of the skycar they had commandeered from Gjallarbrú, Anna cut through the night skies and soared high above the city towards VanirCorp.

"Okay, think!" Anna said to herself. "Think, Anna! There's no way you're gonna be able to just waltz right in there and grab her, so you need a plan like… like a distraction! Something big! And you'll also need hardware because two guns ain't gonna cut it. So, where can I find guns?"

Thankfully, guns and weaponry was one thing that New York was never in short supply of. One could find them just about anywhere in various markets and shops, the only issue was that all firearms purchases had to be registered and logged and Anna didn't have time to cut through all that red tape. Which meant she would have to source them directly from an underground seller, namely a gang.

And when it came to the gangers, the most well armed of the bunch were undoubtedly the demons. Luckily for Anna, she knew just where to find them. The Memory Palace was right between the demon's and the Verenkov's territory and from there it wouldn't be hard to find one of their representatives.

"Demons, need to find some demons," Anna said as she punched in a new destination. "They'll have guns to sell, definitely."

Anna brought up her omni-pad and checked her balance of credits. She still hadn't even touched the sum that she had been paid from VanirCorp, which meant that Anna could splurge a little. Turning her gaze out the window, Anna grinned at herself as a desperate, crazy, and devious plan began to form in her mind.

A short while later, Anna touched down in a parking lot nearby a bustling night market not far from the Memory Palace. Given the appearance of her executive skycar, most civilians gave Anna a cautious glance as she stepped out and kept their distance from her. Anna on the other hand, had a singular focus on her mind.

She walked through the night market, scanning the crowds for any members of the demons. All around her, civilians carried about their business while vendors advertised their merchandise, yet no demons were to be seen. Pushing ahead, Anna continued exploring until she came upon a narrow alley where a group of metalhead demons were playing a game with dice. It wasn't actually all that ago that Anna ran into this same group, but neither she nor the gangers recalled that brief encounter they shared.

This time however, Anna opted to keep her face hidden with the collar of her long-coat. She couldn't risk being recognized as the person wanted for six million credits. As for her hair, Anna quickly dipped into a market stall and stole a beanie to keep it concealed. With that, she was now appropriately disguised and largely unremarkable from any other random civilian in New York.

"Hey!" Anna called out as she approached the group with a purposeful stride. "Are you demon boys?"

One demon with a singular ocular lens over the upper half of his face scowled at Anna's direction then grinned lecherously as soon as he laid eyes on her. "Yeah. What's it to you?"

"Need to purchase some hardware. Think you can help me out?"

The other demons stood up and eyed Anna with a mixture of curiosity and caution.

Meanwhile, the leading demon advanced towards Anna. "Hardware? Looks like you already got some, lady. Sweet arm you got there. Primo shit," he chuckled. "I know a tech-doc, he can hook you up with-"

Anna cut him off with a wave of her hand. "Not that kind. I need weapons. Guns, explosives, whatever you got."

The demon scowled and recoiled. "Are you a fucking cop?"

"Do I look like a fucking cop?" Anna shot back.

Some of the demons began to mutter among themselves and Anna was starting to lose her patience.

"Look, lady, I don't know what kind of operation you think we're running here but-"

"This change your mind?" Anna asked as she reached inside her long-coat and tossed over a credit chit. "There's plenty more where that came from."

"Okay," the demon chuckled and his comrades gawked at Anna. "You didn't let me finish, I was gonna say… but I'd be remiss to turn down such a lucrative business opportunity."

Anna rolled her eyes. "I'm in a bit of a hurry, can you help me out or not?"

"Of course, come right this way," the demon smiled then stepped aside and gestured for her to walk ahead.

"Great," Anna nodded and started walking deeper into the alley. "Let's go."

"Alright alright!" the demon clapped as he started leading the way. "Name's Tinker Tom by the way, and who might you be?'

"Misty," Anna lied.

"Cool," Tinker Tom nodded. "Come on, it's this way."

Tinker Tom led Anna down a twisting path where they eventually came upon the backdoor to an underground club. There, they were greeted by a large bouncer with numerous implants that studded his torso and arms. He nodded his head at Tinker Tom and fixed Anna with a suspicious glare.

"Hey tink," the bouncer said. "Who's your friend?"

"Business opportunity," Tinker Tom replied.

"Uh huh, alright. Head on in."

The bouncer opened the door, which led down a dark and musty stairwell. Tinker Tom headed down first, followed by Anna where they soon reached a landing and found themselves standing inside of a sort of bar and gang hideout. Numerous demons were lounging about, either sitting in chairs, playing cards, or drinking and talking rambunctiously. As soon as Anna and Tinker Tom entered however, they all stopped what they were doing to study their new arrival.

Anna on the other hand, wasn't intimidated. She had far more pressing things on her mind to be concerned with.

Tinker Tom made a hissing sound as he drew a finger across his throat. "Easy, boys. She's off limits, cool it."

The other demons relaxed and returned to their business. Meanwhile, Anna followed Tinker Tom until they reached another door where he knocked loudly three times.

"What the fuck do you want!" shouted an angry and metallic voice from inside.

"It's Tink! Open up! Got a business meeting for you!"

A sliding viewport opened suddenly and Anna looked up where she locked eyes with another metalhead whose face was adorned with implants. The arms dealer scrutinized Anna for a second, then slid the viewport shut after which multiple latches could be heard unlocking. After a few more seconds, the door finally opened.

The arms dealer nodded to Tinker Tom. "What've we got?"

"She's a customer," Tinker Tom gestured his thumb at Anna. "Looking to buy some hardware."

"That so?" the arms dealer looked at Anna again.

"I've got credits," Anna replied. "Just need some new gear, that's all."

"She's good for it man," Tinker Tom added.

The arms dealer glanced back at Tinker Tom, then laughed boisterously. "Well, don't just stand there! Come on in and see what pleases ya," he stepped aside and gestured for them to come in.

Anna entered the room, where she was greeted by a formidable arsenal of weapons, gadgets, equipment, and other illegal goods. Tinker Tom waited by the door, while the arms dealer went around a counter and placed his palms flat against the glass, fixing Anna with an expectant look.

"So, what are you in the market for?" the arms dealer asked.

"First off," Anna looked over and examined the array of firearms on display on a nearby wall. "I need ammunition. 50 caliber action express and six-shot speedloaders to go with it, hollow points, preferably. Along with 45 ACP rounds and fourteen shot mags, armor piercing if you've got it."

The arms dealer nodded. "Okay, how much?"

"About six loads each should do," Anna replied, then went over to examine the contents of a nearby crate.

Inside, neatly packed in foam, were several explosive devices.

"Are these EMP grenades?" Anna asked.

"Sure are," the arms dealer grinned. "Zaps and disables anything electronic in a five meter radius. Including andys."

"Good. I'll take five of these. And I see you've got frags as well, so, five of those too."

"Done. What else?"

Anna tapped her chin with her finger as she perused the wares. On a nearby wall was a neat array of razor sharp looking katanas, but that wasn't what caught her attention. A black vest with multiple pouches and magazine holders caught her eye, so she pointed at it.

"Is that body armor?" Anna asked.

"Yeah," the arms dealer went over to it and pulled it down, then laid it flat against the counter for Anna to examine. "Best on the market too. Kevlar weave over silicon carbide plates and ceramic matrices. Level five ballistic armor that offers protection like nothing else."

Anna nodded and tapped the sturdy material with her metal hand. "How's it do against flechettes?"

"It's been field tested and combat rated against flechettes. Full insulation and zero penetration, but still hurts like a bitch if you get tagged."

"I'll grab this too, if you don't mind."

"Sure, but this is the only one I've got in stock right now. If you wait a week, I can have one for you custom tailored. This one here's a men's cut."

"That's fine, I'll only be needing it once anyways," Anna waved away the arms dealer's offer. "Now, I need something else, something big. Bold."

The arms dealer smiled and gestured over to the firearms on the wall. "You're a bit spoiled for choice here, but take your pick. We've got assault rifles, shotguns, SMGs, you name it. Just let me know whatever catches your interest."

Anna went down the length of the wall, scanning the various weapons with curiosity but none of them in particular stood out. It wasn't until she reached the very end when she spotted a familiar rifle type of weapon sitting on display. She knew she had seen it from somewhere before, and after a moment it clicked. Anna had seen that weapon in action on the last job she did before she set out to find Elsa.

"What's this one here?" Anna asked as she went over and pointed at it.

"Damn, you got a good eye," the arms dealer said as she retrieved the weapon from the display and set it down before Anna. "This here is an ArmaRex prototype plasma rifle. Hasn't come into mainline production yet, but if you could see the shit thing can do," he chuckled deviously. "It shoots bolts of superheated plasma a lot like a scattergun, but a hell of a lot more accurately and with a fire rate of six hundred bolts per minute."

The plasma rifle was made of a composite alloy and sported several modern features. It came with an attached hybrid gunsight that offered 2x and 4x magnification, a small holo-display which showed the amount of shots remaining in a single battery cartridge, an adjustable padded stock for added recoil control, an angled foregrip for greater accuracy, and a heat sink to protect the user's hands as the weapon fired.

"Huh," Anna muttered, knowing full well exactly what the weapon was capable of. "Go on."

To demonstrate, the arms dealer lifted the weapon in his hands and aimed at a pile of crates close by, making sure to keep his finger off the trigger as he showed Anna how the weapon worked. "You see, this thing doesn't fire regular bullets so it uses these battery cartridges instead. Load them up like a normal magazine, pull the charging handle, and you're good to go," the arms dealer explained as he carried out the loading process. "Just gotta be careful though because if you let down on the trigger for too long, it'll overheat."

Anna stared at the weapon in awe, then after a moment she looked up at the arms dealer and nodded enthusiastically. "Yep, this is the one. I'll take this one."

"Right on," the arms dealer said. "Just one thing though, since it's a prototype we aren't liable for whatever horrific and disabling bodily injuries the user may suffer when operating this weapon. Also, no refunds either."

"Got it," Anna replied and gave a thumbs up. "Not a problem."

At that, the arms dealer returned Anna a thumbs up and set to ringing up her purchase while Tinker Tom gathered the items.

"Anything else we can help you with?" Tinker Tom asked while he worked.

"Uh, yeah, actually there is," Anna said as she looked around. "You got a changing room I could use?"

… … …

A few minutes later and over seventy five thousand credits lighter, Anna emerged from a washroom fully decked out in her new gear. She wore the body armor beneath her long-coat, which was fully loaded with all of the ammunition and explosives she had purchased. As she exited and returned to the arms dealer's shop, she found that the rest of her items had been stashed inside a duffle bag ready to go.

"Thanks," Anna said as she picked up her items and started for the exit.

The arms dealer waved goodbye to Anna. "Enjoy your purchase now, you hear?"

"Oh, I will!" Anna replied as she waved back and made her way back towards the staircase where Tinker Tom was waiting. "Think I got everything I need. Thanks for the help, Tink."

"No problem," Tinker Tom grinned. "Let me walk you out."

Anna didn't argue and fell in step behind Tinker Tom as he guided her out of the demon hideout. As they walked through the alley back the way they came, he looked over and glanced at Anna up and down with a curious and amused expression.

"So, it's definitely none of my business but I gotta ask… just what the hell are you planning?" Tinker Tom asked.

Anna glanced over. "Nothing major," she replied nonchalantly. "VanirCorp has my friend imprisoned against their will. I'm gonna go there, break them out, and gun down any andy or corpo bastard who's stupid enough to stand in my way," she said rather bluntly. "Probably best for your sake that you forget we ever had this conversation."

"Jesus, you're going to take on VanirCorp?" Tinker Tom's jaw fell slack and he stopped in place. "That's a suicide mission, you got a fucking deathwish or something?"

"No," Anna replied without looking back. "Not this time."


	32. The Myth of Sisyphus

* * *

"So I realize we haven't actually met yet," the auburn haired man sitting across from Elsa said. "I'm Hans, I work on the behalf of ArmaRex as a security liaison."

Elsa glanced over to Hans, then turned her attention back out the window. She wasn't feeling in the mood to make any kind of small talk right now.

They were currently sitting inside of his skycar, en route back to VanirCorp where Elsa would be turned over back to Matilda. Accompanying them was Hans's security escort, all stern faced and armed to the teeth.

Hans smiled, but from his eyes, Elsa could tell that it wasn't genuine. "You know, I've heard a lot about you. Even seen you in action on the feeds from some of your combat sims, and I must say… now that I'm seeing you in person, you are not at all what I expected."

"No?" Elsa replied without looking at Hans. "And what did you expect?"

"Something more formidable looking, I suppose."

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you."

"Not at all, quite the opposite in fact. I think you're remarkable."

"Hmm."

"It's a little above my paygrade, but if you ask me, I'd say Rosenthal is wasting your potential."

Elsa finally looked back at Hans, who was staring at her with a thoughtful and piercing expression. "In my experience, I've learned not to have ideas above my station. I'm a test subject, and a prototype… nothing more."

She didn't truly feel that way, not anymore since meeting Anna, but at this moment she didn't feel overly forthcoming about how far she had come in self-actualization. So, Elsa decided to play the part of a meek thing to avoid any further uncomfortable conversations.

"Rosenthal didn't lie," Hans chuckled. "You are a sharp one, but we both know that's not true. You've come a long way ever since you started your second life."

"My second life?" Elsa feigned ignorance. "I don't know what you mean. I was born here, raised in an orphanage before I was taken in by Miss Rosenthal. That's the only life I've ever known."

"How long are you gonna keep this up?" Hans asked, smirking.

By now, Elsa knew her attempts to maintain a façade were useless, so he dropped the act. "How much do you know about me?" she asked.

"Enough," Hans turned his gaze out the window. "She's been on the warpath ever since you left, you know. Had us combing the entire city for you, her lost 'daughter.' Hmph."

"Miss Rosenthal is nothing if not efficient," Elsa replied dryly. "I imagine she's never going to slip up again. I'll be a prisoner for the rest of my life."

"You wouldn't be if I had any say in the matter."

"What do you mean?"

"Tell me you don't see it either," Hans fixed Elsa with an intense glare. "Rosenthal's created something extraordinary with you, a being with abilities that far surpass any ordinary human. We're talking enhanced strength, speed, reflexes, you name it. On top of it all, an advanced learning algorithm and a sophisticated intelligence that allows you to constantly adapt and survive? And the only thing Rosenthal sees you as is a little pet project for… for memory experimentation? To find a cure for her sickness?"

Elsa said nothing, for she could already sense where Hans was going.

"It's a waste of your talents, Elsa. Think about all the funding, all the R&D that went into creating you and Rosenthal just wants to keep you locked up in her basement! It's absurd!"

"So, how would you use me?" Elsa asked, pressing the topic forward so that Hans could finally arrive at the point he was trying to make.

"You could do anything and be anyone. With your mind and your abilities, you could be an invaluable asset to have that any corpo would kill to have!" Hans explained. "Espionage, counter-intelligence, security, defense… just think of the difference you could make! You'd be the perfect spy, assassin, and enforcer. You're the only one of your kind, entirely unique and incredibly unlikely to be replicated by anyone else."

Elsa chuckled humorlessly and shook her head, turning her face out the window once more. "You'd turn me into a weapon. How imaginative," she muttered sarcastically, having learned it from the best.

"What are you, if not a tool?" Hans countered. "You weren't made for any other purpose beyond that. The only thing special about you came out of a bottle. Come on… did you really think you could have a life out there?"

"I had a life," Elsa said softly.

"Yes, and you've been trying to find another one ever since you ran away from home with that red-headed friend of yours, I know. It's all very heartwarming, but useless," Hans replied, then leaned forward in his seat. "The truth is, you just weren't built for that."

Elsa kept her gaze out the window, refusing to let Hans's words have an impact on her. She had come too far, learned too much, and experienced the world with Anna to know better than that by now. Still, despite everything she had endured, it ultimately seemed that Hans was right. From the very beginning ever since was made, her fate had been consigned to that of a mere tool. An instrument used to help others achieve their ends, whatever they may be.

"At least, that's how it would be if Rosenthal had her way," Hans leaned back. "With how old she's getting, and with how her sickness is progressing, who's to say how long she'll remain in charge anymore?"

"What are you saying?" Elsa asked as she cocked her head.

"I'm saying, if she wasn't in the picture and with a little change in management, one could make sure you were treated better. You'd still be a tool, but a tool with a little more freedom than what you currently have under Rosenthal. You could even have… well, not a life I'll admit, but certainly something that's better than what you have now."

"And, I imagine you want to take her place."

"It's only a matter of time until she kicks the bucket. Traditionally, ownership of VanirCorp has passed onto the next Rosenthal heir, but Matilda has no next of kin. I'm not the only one who's thinking about this, when she dies it'll be a free-for-all. Corpos are bloodthirsty sharks, I should know, and right now… they're circling around the waters, just waiting for an opportunity to bite."

"I'd still be a prisoner."

"To some, perhaps. With me, I can guarantee you wouldn't ever have to live inside a cage ever again. No egghead scientist would ever poke and prod you for study. I could start you at seven grand, a week that is. You'd have your own apartment to live in, you'd be free to do whatever you wanted… so long as you work directly for me."

"As your weapon."

"Still better than a test subject, wouldn't you say? Just something to think about."

Elsa didn't respond and looked away from Hans. She didn't care about any of that, she didn't want any kind of life where she was only ever just something to be used. The only life she wanted was one with Anna, but she couldn't have that either.

Outside, the VanirCorp building came into view as they approached the landing pad on the roof of the building. Before long, Elsa would be back in that familiar place that she had come to hate with every fiber of her being. As tall and shining and proud as the headquarters of VanirCorp was, anyone could see that it was just another monument to opulent corporate corruption and oppression. An obelisk of greed and power. At the top of it all stood the architect of her suffering; Matilda Rosenthal.

If she could, Elsa would burn it all down. But she couldn't. She was doing all of this for Anna so that at least she could live and be free.

_Be safe, Anna,_ Elsa thought as they touched down on the landing pad. _And try… try to be happy, for me. I know it'll hurt and I'm sorry. I want to be there with you more than anything but I can't… I'm so sorry._

"We're here," Hans said as the doors to the skycar opened and another security team waiting outside greeted them. "Welcome home, Elsa."

As she stepped out, an android approached Elsa with yet another suppression collar when Hans suddenly interceded on her behalf.

"That won't be necessary," Hans ordered. "Elsa's here by choice this time. She's not going to cause any problems now, will she?"

Elsa remained silent

"Apologies, sir," the android protested. "Protocol dictates-"

"I know, and I'm overriding it," Hans said firmly then made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Inform Rosenthal that her daughter has returned."

The android dipped its head in acknowledgement, then promptly departed from the landing pad to carry out its task. Hans sighed, then gestured ahead as he began leading Elsa and the security escort down into the building.

Elsa glanced up to the sky and then down at the city below for a final time. For just a moment, she had considered running for the rooftop's edge and leaping off to her certain death. But it was only a moment and before Elsa could capitalize on her thoughts, she was pressed along by Hans who guided her forward by the shoulder.

Tried as she might to calm her nerves and settle her mind, Elsa found that she was truly afraid. After everything she had fought and struggled for, after everything both she and Anna sacrificed, after everything they endured, at the end it turned out to be all for nothing. Elsa knew who she was now, but she was no further from VanirCorp then when she first ran away.

It seemed that the short and tragic tale of her second life would end where it all began. Back in the clutches of VanirCorp and far from Anna's warm embrace.

With nothing else she could do, Elsa resigned herself to her fate and prepared to face her mother for the final time.

… … …

Matilda was found in her office, standing with her back to the door as she observed the city below in the same manner that she always had. When Elsa was brought in, Matilda didn't even spare a glance over her shoulder as she addressed the security escort.

"Thank you, that will be all. You may leave us now."

The androids and the human security guards dipped their heads in response then quietly shuffled out, closing the door shut behind them as they left. Elsa, Hans, and Matilda were now alone together.

"Elsa, come forward," Matilda ordered in a voice that was cold and emotionless.

Elsa hesitated and glanced over to Hans, who was casually leaning with his back against a bookshelf. He said nothing but when their eyes locked, Elsa was reminded of their discussion in the skycar. Hans simply nodded, then cocked his head over to Matilda who remained standing at the window.

Outside, the sky was dark and cloudy while the city below was glowing in the neon night. At some point, it had started snowing and now gentle flakes of wintry fluff were falling through the air. It was the first time that Elsa had ever seen snow and to her it was even more beautiful than the rain.

"Yes, _mother,"_ Elsa replied stiffly then made her way over until she was standing next to the older woman.

There, Matilda finally turned towards Elsa as she extended her arm outwards and struck her across the face with the back of her hand.

Elsa gasped from shock. The blow hadn't hurt her, but it was hard enough to leave a red mark on the surface of her cheek. When she looked back, she saw that Matilda's eyes were severe and empty.

"Do you have any idea how worried sick I've been about you?" Matilda hissed. "Do you? While you were off gallivanting about the entire city getting into god knows what, did you even have the slightest notion of what you were putting me through?!"

Elsa didn't balk from Matilda's rage, and instead she returned her own hard stare.

"Well?" Matilda pressed. "What have you to say for yourself? Speak up!"

"What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry? That I won't do it again?" Elsa replied coolly. "Because I'd be lying and you never taught me to lie. Isn't that what you said to me once?"

"You… _insolent_ little brat!" Matilda struck Elsa across the face again. "How dare you speak to me that way? I am your mother, and you _will_ speak to me with the respect that I deserve!"

Elsa glanced over to Hans from the corner of her eye. He appeared to be completely uninvolved in the conversation, as he had begun idly flipping through the pages of a random book he had picked up.

"Now, _sit_ ," Matilda ordered as she pointed towards the chair sitting on the other side of her desk. "You and I have much to discuss."

Doing as she was told, Elsa took her seat across from Matilda while she did the same. Neither of them spoke for a few long seconds as they glared at each other, until finally, Matilda leaned forward and tented her fingers over her desk.

"So, you finally got to see what life was like down in the muck and filth of this depressing city. Tell me, what was it like?" Matilda asked. "Was it worth it? Was it everything you hoped for? I can see you've adjusted your appearance to fit that of a common street thug."

Elsa glanced down at her clothing that she had grown rather fond of by now. It was Anna who suggested this outfit, so Elsa took no small amount of umbrage at Matilda's remarks.

"It was good," Elsa replied. "I was free."

"Free?" Matilda seemed shocked. "Free to do what? Scrape a living off of the streets like all the rest of those peasants down there? Free to starve? To struggle just to survive? Why on earth did you ever want to leave? You have everything you could ever need or possibly want here."

"But not a life," Elsa smiled thinly. "Not my memories. You took those from me. The one thing I ever wanted, you'd never let me have."

Matilda's face morphed into a smug and knowing expression as her voice dipped to a more serious register. "Didn't I?" she asked.

Elsa stiffened from Matilda's tone of voice. She sensed she had taken a misstep just then, but she didn't know why or how.

Matilda stood from her desk and began pacing a slow circle around towards Elsa as her expression turned more malevolent. "You don't know what I mean do you? No… how could you?"

Elsa remained still as Matilda came around her back, where she then felt gentle hands laid on her shoulders.

"I'll admit, when you first ran away I was afraid I'd lost you completely. I spent days combing the city for you and I even had to hire the services of a specialist to find you," Matilda explained. "So, imagine my shock and surprise when I found out that same detective seemingly kidnapped you and then absconded with the generous fee I paid her."

Matilda released Elsa's shoulders then came around her side where she leaned against her desk as she looked down with her arms crossed.

"I surely expected a ransom note to arrive then, but none came. I sent teams out to find you, but you and that red-haired woman had seemingly disappeared from the city entirely. Then, a few days later, I received word of a security alert from a facility that the last time I checked was certainly abandoned and quite far outside of the city. And who was responsible for that alert? You were."

Nearby, Elsa heard a book snap shut as Hans closed it and set it back on the shelf, evidently taking a new interest in their conversation now.

"Who do you suppose let you in, Elsa?" Matilda asked. "As soon as I saw you on the feed, I knew then what your real intentions were. Frankly, now that I think about it, I feel like a fool for not seeing it sooner. You're still trying to remember who you were."

With awful realization, Elsa slowly looked up to Matilda as she revealed just who was responsible for allowing her to save Anna's life. "It was you," she said. "You let me in, you were the one testing me. I… I saved Anna's life because of you!"

"Indeed. Evidently, I misjudged Miss Veronica Tyrell for she is not who she claimed to be," Matilda smirked. "And yet, you still haven't thanked me for that remarkable act of altruism. I could have easily let her die, you know."

Elsa looked away, feeling conflicted. A part of her wanted to strangle Matilda then and there, but another part of her was also grateful. Without Matilda's interdiction, Anna surely would have perished outside the gates of Gjallarbrú, and Elsa would have been left all alone.

"But… why?" Elsa asked. "Why didn't you? Why test me?"

"Because I wanted to see what you would do. I designed you, Elsa. You were built to learn and think and grow. There's only so many results that can be produced from a sterile laboratory environment before they become stale, so I saw an opportunity in providing you with a stimulus you've never experienced before. I must say, you far exceeded my expectations."

"So it was all just a game to you?! Me? Anna? You were watching us the whole time?"

Another horrible realization hit Elsa then, which was that if Matilda was aware of their presence at Gjallarbrú, then it stood to reason that she had also witnessed their union as well.

"I can see you've become quite fond of her. Perhaps too fond," Matilda's expression turned grave. "You do realize the complications from your little… _tryst_ , don't you?"

"Th- that's… not your concern. Leave Anna out of this!"

"Oh, Elsa," Matilda sighed and returned to her seat. "Do forgive me, for I had no idea that she was your sister either. When we first received your donor, she was undocumented. No identification of any kind. As for Anna, or Miss Veronica Tyrell or whatever name she calls herself, we assumed that she was simply another orphan lost to the system. We never bothered to look for her."

Elsa stood up from her chair and started to pace back and forth, feeling restless and entirely uncomfortable.

"Still, if I had known how effective your sister could be in swaying you, I would have sought her out much sooner."

"No!" Elsa shouted as she rounded on Matilda. "No… you," she pointed directly at the older woman. "Leave her alone! It was her life in exchange for mine! You got me, I'm back! Anna stays out of this!"

Matilda chuckled dryly. "You're in no position to make demands, Elsa."

Elsa shut her eyes to stop the flow of tears that threatened to break out. Once she regained her composure, she decided to switch tactics and appeal to Matilda's power-tripping nature. She went over and knelt down, then softly took a hold of Matilda's hands between her own.

"I… I'm sorry, _mother,_ " Elsa apologized, enunciating the last word again for affect. "I should never have ran, please. I'm sorry… forgive me, it won't happen again."

"Hmm," Matilda frowned. "I don't know where you learned how to grovel so earnestly, but you certainly didn't pick that up from me."

Elsa gazed up into Matilda's hard and unmoving gaze. " _Please…"_

"I'm afraid I can't trust you, Elsa. You see, if I just reset you, we'll run into this same problem again. How many times have I put you through FMR therapy? Each time I thought that you were making real progress you went ahead and threw it all away again as soon as you started doubting what you were. Don't you see? I've tried everything to erase who you once were and FMR therapy was the most effective solution. But I see now that, no matter how many times I subject you to it, no matter much I try to control you, you'll never learn."

"No, I can change!" Elsa pleaded. "I can be good again, I'll be good, I promise!"

Much like every time that Elsa begged Matilda, her words always fell on deaf ears. It shouldn't have surprised Elsa that this occasion was no different.

"No, Elsa. You can't," Matilda shook her head. "That's why I need to find your sister."

"Wh- what?" Elsa stiffened up in fear. "No, you don't need-"

"I do. Whatever affect Anna has on you, it's completely stabilized your condition. I can see that. Anna is the key to controlling you. I only had to mention her and I had you begging at my feet, something I've never seen you do before," Matilda leaned down and cupped Elsa's face, staring into her eyes unflinchingly. "It's simple… so simple I should have done it long ago. If I control Anna, and I imagine she'll be incredibly easier to manipulate than you have been, then… _I control you."_

Elsa blinked away hot and angry tears as she sprung to her feet, towering over Matilda. "No! I won't let you! You won't hurt her!" she yelled as she raised her fists threateningly.

Matilda didn't even flinch. "Come now, Elsa. You wouldn't strike your own mother, would you?"

There were many things going through Elsa's mind at that moment, but chief among all her concerns was Anna's well being. Elsa had given her very life to try and ensure Anna's safety and even then it wasn't enough.

As Elsa stood there, debating whether or not to strike down the evil woman sitting in front of her, a sudden and massive explosion rocked the entire building. An instant after the explosion was heard, a shockwave rocketed all the way up the side of the building and shattered the glass window of Matilda's office. Elsa stumbled backwards and fell on the floor, while Hans braced himself against the bookshelf, and Matilda held on tight to the desk.

Elsa crawled over to the window and far below, she could see a giant fireball and a cloud of smoke climbing upwards. Shattered glass and broken concrete littered the streets below directly in front of the main entrance to VanirCorp. Panicked civilians and confused corpos alike could be seen stumbling through the smoke and debris, all the while sirens sounded off in the distance. Seconds later, alarms began to blare out all across the building as red emergency lights started to flash.

"What the fuck was that?!" Hans shouted, speaking for the first time since they entered Matilda's office.

A squad of security guards immediately burst through the doors with their weapons drawn. As soon as they saw Elsa on the floor, they clamped a suppression collar around her neck before she could resist. Meanwhile, another one went over to Matilda's side and helped her side before beginning to lead her out of the office.

"What's happened?!" Matilda demanded as she was led away. "That was an explosion, what's going on?"

"We believe it's a terrorist attack ma'am," the guard replied. "Someone has flown a skycar directly into the front entrance. We must get you to safety."

"A terrorist attack?" Hans asked. "Just who in the hell would be crazy enough to attack this place?!"

_I know exactly who would be crazy enough to do that,_ Elsa thought as she remained where she was on the floor while a slow smile spread across her face. _My Anna._

As relieved as she was, Elsa was overcome by concern and shock. VanirCorp was the last place Anna should be and if she truly was enacting some desperate plan to rescue Elsa, then she would be playing right into Matilda's hand.

"Not sure yet, but we're on it. Ma'am, we need to move now," the guard said.

"No, not without my daughter! She comes with me!" Matilda ordered, then turned to Hans. "Deal with this, Hans! What am I paying ArmaRex for? Go!"

"On it," Hans nodded then just before he left, he gave Elsa another knowing look.

He didn't say anything then and there, but Elsa knew from his eyes what he was suggesting for her to do once she was alone with Matilda. Strong hands lifted Elsa off the ground then, and she did not resist as she was led away along with Matilda back to her apartment.

_I have to do something!_ Elsa thought. _Anna's going to get herself killed, I have to get to her!_


	33. American Venom

* * *

"Oh man… what the hell am I doing?!" Anna spoke aloud to herself over the sound of wind whipping all around her.

Anna had sabotaged the autopilot of her skycar and was currently hanging out the open door as she flew on a collision course directly at the main entrance of VanirCorp. The altitude and distance was still a ways off, offering Anna just enough time to reevaluate her decision if she so wished.

"This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy!"

Air traffic all around her honked their horns and some even narrowly missed crashing into Anna's skycar while she remained stuck in her path. Before long, she was cruising through the air just off the ground as the main entrance came into view. Civilians on the ground shouted in alarm and pointed upwards at Anna, which was when she started to laugh maniacally.

"Alright!" Anna slung the plasma rifle around her shoulders and prepared to jump. "Here goes nothing!"

Seconds before impact, Anna leapt clear of the skycar and flew through the air, carried forward by its momentum. She clamped her two feet together firmly as she adjusted the angle of her approach so that she could make a clean landing, then crashed into the ground with a solid thud. Anna then tucked into a roll to break her fall, after which she landed on her front heavily. Thankfully, her body armor cushioned her landing and protected her from serious harm.

"Whew," Anna sighed as she rose to her feet and dusted herself off. "Piece of cake!"

Ahead of her, the skycar careened into the main entrance, crashing all the way through glass, concrete, and metal alike until it was stopped by a solid structural column. A moment later, it exploded with a gigantic fireball and shockwave which nearly knocked Anna back down on the ground. All around her, flaming bits of debris and pieces of rubble fell through the air, landing in random places.

Over the ringing in her ears, Anna could hear panicked and confused shouting. Thankfully, it seemed that nobody Anna didn't want hurt was caught in the blast, as civilians were never typically allowed on corpo property. Still, Anna scanned her surroundings to make sure all was clear before she charged headlong into the thick cloud of smoke and dust.

If she was going to save Elsa, she had to move fast. There was no telling how many armed guards were inside the building and as armed to the teeth as Anna was, she couldn't last long if she was overwhelmed. So, she would have to rely on her speed as well as the element of surprise if she was going to pull this off.

"Gotta find Elsa," Anna said to herself. "Find her, get the hell out quick. That's the plan!"

She crossed through a small and empty plaza, then began ascending a large staircase towards the main entrance of VanirCorp. Sirens and alarms could be heard blaring out which urged Anna along as she ran up the stairs. As soon as she reached the top, she removed the plasma rifle from her shoulders and held it before her at the ready, keeping her eyes open for any trouble that came her way.

Ahead of her was the burning wreck of her skycar, which belched thick clouds of smoke into the night air while a gentle snowfall came down from the sky. Making her way past it, Anna entered the ruined lobby where the red emergency lights mixed with the bright orange glow of the fire which was slowly spreading its way from the wreck inside the building. Scattered around the lobby were dead security androids and guards. The explosion had caused massive structural damage and at a glance, it looked as if Anna were wading her way through a warzone.

At this time of night, the VanirCorp building was manned only by a skeleton crew of staff along with the requisite security androids and guards. Sensing that the latter two would surely shoot Anna on sight, she resolved to ask a staff member for directions since she didn't have the slightest clue on where to begin searching for Elsa.

As luck would have it, Anna came by a reception desk where she immediately went around to look for a directory. Instead, she found a young man covered in dust and cowering beneath a terminal.

"Hey, you!" Anna shouted as she leaped over the reception desk and pointed her plasma rifle at the receptionist's head. "Come on out of there!"

No answer came, and it was clear that the man was shell shocked from the explosion and partially deafened. Anna didn't have time to play nice, so she leaped down from the desk, grabbed him by the shoulder with her metal hand and dragged him out.

"Do- don't shoot me, please!" the man pleaded as he looked up at Anna and shielded his face. "Don't kill me!"

"I'm only gonna ask you this once. Where. Is. Elsa?!" Anna demanded.

"Wh- who?!"

"Elsa! Where is she?! Tell me or so help me god, I'll blow a hole straight through your head right now!"

"I don't… I don't know who that is!"

"The woman you've been keeping here! She's got white hair, she's real pretty? Ring any bells?"

"What… what woman?! I swear, I don't know anything, I'm just a receptionist for god's sake! I only started last week!"

Anna rolled her eyes and knelt down. "Then where would they keep prisoners here? You gotta know something!"

"Prisoners? I… uh, yes. Yes! Prisoners, they'd be in the holding cells! Th- that must be where they're keeping your friend!"

"Where?"

"S- sub level B! Take the elevator down, it'll take you straight there."

"Great, now was that so hard?" Anna straightened up, gesturing towards the exit with her plasma rifle. "Now go on, get outta here!"

"Than- thank you!" the receptionist rose to his feet and immediately started making his way out, stumbling here and there as he went.

"And find a new job!" Anna called out after him, then turned her attention back to her surroundings.

The elevators were at the other end of the lobby, just past a corridor that wound its way deeper into the building. From there, Anna could hear a group of voices shouting frantic orders as they converged on her location. Before long, she would have a gunfight on her hands.

Anna crossed through the lobby as quickly as she could, but was cut off halfway when the group of guards numbering five in total spotted her.

"Contact! Gun gun gun!"

"Open fire!

A fusillade of flechettes ripped through the air around Anna, causing her to seek immediate cover. She dove over a fallen pillar and pressed her back against it all the while the guards fired on her position and sought their own cover.

"Okay," Anna hissed as she racked the charging handle of her plasma rifle. "Here we go…"

As soon as there was a pause in their firing, Anna sprung up from behind cover and blasted the nearest guard approaching her with a barrage of bolts. The superheated plasma struck the guard square in the chest, melting through his armor and bringing him to his knees as he screamed in agony. Next, Anna adjusted her aim and dropped a second guard who peeked out of cover in the same manner, then ducked down when the three remaining guards fired upon her position once more.

"She's behind that pillar!"

"Get around her, go!"

Anna crawled on her hands and knees towards the far end of the pillar, then quickly peeked around the other side where a flechette was immediately fired at her head.

"Shit!" Anna cursed as she ducked back.

From her brief glance, she saw that two of the guards were taking cover behind a pile of rubble, while the third was attempting to flank her. Acting quickly, Anna unhooked one of the frag grenades from the belt she wore across her chest, pulled the pin, then quickly darted upwards and tossed it before diving back down.

"Oh shit! Mov-"

The grenade detonated with a shockwave of heat and shrapnel, tearing apart the two guards who were behind cover. Immediately afterward, Anna rose back up to a crouching position then dropped the final guard with a short burst from her plasma rifle.

With the lobby clear for the moment, Anna performed a quick scan of her surroundings then rushed out of cover. She sprinted towards the elevator then punched the button to descend.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Anna muttered as she watched the indicator above the elevator doors slowly tick down to her floor.

Another group of guards had now arrived on the scene. As soon as they spotted their fallen comrades and Anna not standing far away, they began to fire at her.

Just then, the elevator doors finally opened with a ding and Anna ran inside, firing blindly over her shoulder as she went. Once she was in, she pressed her back up against the wall just off to the side from the open doors, then frantically mashed the button for sub-level B. Meanwhile, flechettes were flying through the air, peppering the wall opposite from the doors.

"The elevator! She's getting away!"

"Stop!"

As the doors started to close, a single guard came rushing forward with his hand outreached in an attempt to stop but he was too late. He slammed into the metal doors just as they shut, then pounded his fist against it as he cursed.

Inside, Anna breathed a sigh of relief and wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. She leaned against the wall, tapping her foot impatient while irritatingly inappropriate elevator music played. After a moment, Anna scowled and turned her attention to an upper corner of the elevator where she spotted a camera watching her.

"Shit, they'll know I'm coming," Anna muttered. She blasted the camera with a single shot from her plasma rifle, then quickly looked around the ceiling until she found an escape hatch just above her. "No way they won't be waiting for me soon as those doors open. I need to get up top."

Anna jumped up and punched the hatch with her metal fist, causing it to fly off and clatter down the elevator shaft. Next, she leaped up and caught the edge, then pulled herself up out of the elevator car at the last second before it reached its floor. As soon as the doors opened, the entire thing was filled with flechettes and had Anna been there a moment ago, she would have been turned into swiss cheese.

After several moments, the firing finally stopped and Anna could hear androids speaking to each other as they proceeded to search the elevator.

"Glad I brought these," Anna muttered to herself as she reached for two EMP grenades and primed their triggers.

From below, metallic footsteps were heard as the androids entered the elevator car and searched the interior. From above, Anna dropped down a single EMP grenade, then quickly tossed the second out the doors into the hallway beyond. She then ducked back just in time as flechettes whizzed past her head and she pressed herself tight against the wall of the shaft furthest from the hatch.

A second later, a concussive pop and sizzle filled the air as the lights in the immediate vicinity were shut off. The androids inside of the elevator convulsed in place as they short-circuited, then crumpled to the floor in smoking and sparking piles of metal. As soon as the second grenade detonated, Anna dropped down from the hatch and swept the hallway beyond, melting another two androids who stood just beyond the blast radius with a controlled burst from her plasma rifle.

Anna was now on sub-level B and from the look of it, the receptionist had been correct. Just ahead of her, past a security checkpoint was a large hallway that was lined on either side by an array of holding cells.

"Alright," Anna huffed as she ejected the spent battery cartridge from her plasma rifle and inserted a new one. "Where are you, Elsa?" she asked as she racked the charging handle.

Pressing ahead, Anna made her way through the checkpoint where she had to pass through a screening machine which whined and rang out in alarm from the sheer amount of weaponry she was carrying. Once through, Anna immediately began pacing up the rows in search of Elsa.

"Elsa? Hey! Are you here?" Anna called out. "It's Anna, where are y- agh!"

Anna fell to the floor on her back from a sudden kinetic force that struck her in the chest, dropping her weapon as she did. She peered down at herself and saw three flechettes sticking out of her armor, fizzling uselessly against the insulated material.

"Mother… _fucker_!" Anna shouted as she sprung up, drew her sidearm, and dropped the offending android with three bursts.

As soon it dropped dead, another android burst through a door of a security office. Anna rolled out of the way just in time to avoid some flechettes, then emptied the rest of her magazine into the android, killing it.

Alone again, Anna reached up with her metal hand and ripped out the flechettes from her armor, then pushed herself to her feet to resume her search. Next, she dropped the empty magazine from her sidearm, slid in a new one, then racked the slide to chamber a new round before putting it away. Afterwards, she retrieved her plasma rifle from the floor then resumed her search.

She paced down the remainder of the rows, then crossed over to the other side where she found a lone man, dressed in an engineer's jumpsuit. He was staring at Anna in awe through his remaining eye as it looked as if his other had been gouged out.

"You," Anna pointed to the man as she approached him. "I'm looking for my sister, Elsa. Maybe you've seen her around? She's got white hair, hard to miss."

The man's eye widened as he gawked at Anna. "El- Elsa… sister?"

"Yeah," Anna huffed impatiently. "You know her? Where is she?"

"Of course I know her," the man replied. "I helped her escape, but they must have caught her if she's back here again. Fuck!"

"Wait, wait," Anna waved her hand through the air as she shook her head and stepped closer. "Are you Theodore?"

"Yeah, th- that's me," Theodore nodded. "How did you know that?"

"I'm Anna. Elsa told me about you. You were her only friend, the only one who ever actually gave a shit about her."

"Yeah! Yes, that's right!"

"So do you know where she is? I need to find her, I'm busting her out."

"They wouldn't keep her down here, no… no she'd be confined to her quarters. Up on the executive floors, at the top of the building."

"Shit," Anna cursed and turned around. "It's not gonna be easy getting up there."

"No, but hey, let me out and I can help you! Come on! The cell doors can be unlocked by a terminal over there!" Theodore pointed frantically to the security office.

Anna turned back around and glanced at Theodore's appearance. On top of the eye he was missing, his face was bruised all over and he looked as if he could barely stand. Still, there was grim determination set in his expression.

"You sure? You, uh… you don't look too good," Anna said as delicately as she could. "Can you fight?"

"No, but I'm a net systems engineer. If you can get me back to my terminal, I can get you past the security lockouts. By now, they'll know you're coming and the executive floors will be sealed off."

"And you're positive Elsa is up there?"

"I'm damn sure of it. That crazy bitch Rosenthal would never let her little pet project far out of her sight."

"Got it," Anna nodded. "Hang tight, I'll get you out of there in a sec."

"Hurry!" Theodore urged while Anna made her way towards the security office.

Once inside, Anna found a terminal that displayed multiple camera feeds and from them, she could see a large group of androids and security guards closing in on the holding cell block.

"Uh, hey… Theodore, buddy?!" Anna called out. "There's trouble incoming so keep your head down!"

Anna went over to the window of the security office and smashed out the glass with the butt end of her plasma rifle. Next, she crouched down and pulled out another frag grenade, removing the pin while keeping the arming lever held down to keep it hot and primed. Meanwhile, she kept an eye on the camera feeds and counted down the seconds until the group arrived in the cell block. As soon as they entered, Anna tossed the grenade blindly over her cover then bent over and shielded her head.

Guards shouted in alarm while androids began firing on Anna's location at once until another second later, the frag grenade detonated with a deafening boom. Most of the androids and guards who were caught in the blast were shredded to pieces and tossed through the air like rag dolls. A few androids had their legs blown off, who immediately began to crawl towards Anna's positions while the rest of the guards shouted in panic and confusion.

Seizing her chance, Anna rose to her feet and began spraying down everything across the width of the cell block, firing from the hip. She held down the trigger until the barrel of her plasma rifle became red-hot and only after nothing else moved did she finally let go. After it was all clear, Anna vaulted through the window then swept the holding cell block. All around her, bits of androids and human parts were scattered apart in a gruesome and bizarre melding of metal and flesh.

"Is it over?" Theodore asked from behind a thin mattress he was using as a shield.

Anna waved away the hot fumes rising from the end of her weapon, then ejected the spent battery cartridge as she glanced over to Theodore. "Yeah… yeah, it's over. For now, at least," she slotted in a new cartridge then turned around. "Let's get you out of there."

Returning to the security office, Anna searched around until she found a red button which controlled the cell doors. She pressed the button, then nodded to herself in satisfaction when she heard the cell doors opening after which she returned to Theodore.

"You did it!" Theodore said as he limped out of his cell and approached Anna. "Thank you, I didn't think I'd ever get out of here!"

"Don't thank me just yet," Anna replied. "We're still not out of this. Now… we need to get to Elsa. You said something about your terminal? Where's that?"

"Engineering department. Couple stories up, but we'll have to take the stairs since they should have shut off the elevators by now."

Anna nodded. "Alright, we need to get moving. Are you hurt?"

"I'll be fine," Theodore said through gritted teeth.

"Good," Anna bent down and gathered up a flechette rifle as well as a few spare magazines from one of the fallen guards and passed them to Theodore.

Theodore recoiled. "Wh- what? I can't- I mean I've never even shot a gun before, there's no way I can-"

"Relax, just point it at the bad guys and shoot," Anna said as she pressed the items into Theodore's arms. "You watch my back and I'll watch yours."

"I- I- I don't know if I can do this…"

"Neither do I. But we stand a better chance if we stick together, right? Come on… Elsa needs us."

Theodore swallowed a lump in his throat then took a deep breath. When he made eye contact with Anna again, that fierce determination had returned to his face.

"Yeah… yeah, we can do this," Theodore smiled thinly.

Anna grinned and clapped him on the shoulder reassuringly. "Then let's go. We've got a woman to save."

… … …

After departing from the holding cells, Anna let Theodore lead the way as he guided her towards a service stairwell that was seldom used and only in the case of emergencies. There, they managed to ascend a few floors undetected. In the meantime, the alarms continued to blare out, security teams methodically swept each floor of the building for Anna and Theodore, and the fire from the skycar explosion was now spreading through the lower floors of the building.

Without planning for it, Anna's little stunt with the skycar had caused an incredible amount of damage and with the fire, emergency teams were preoccupied with containing it before the blaze spread to the rest of the building as well as the immediate city around it. The fire provided a distraction and brought them a little bit more time as they continued their ascent up towards the engineering department.

"So, I gotta know," Anna started as she trailed behind Theodore, moving at his place since he could only walk at a fast limp. "Why did you help Elsa? I mean… you risked your life for her."

Theodore glanced back at Anna and fixed her with a look as if she had said the silliest thing in the world. "Because it was the right thing to do."

Anna shied from the sincerity of his look and occupied herself by scanning her surroundings.

"If you know what they've done to her-"

"I know, trust me."

Theodore nodded. "I… I didn't know that Elsa had a sister."

"Neither did she," Anna replied. "It's a bit of a long story."

"I understand."

"They do that to you? Your eye?"

"Yeah… they did."

"Fucking animals."

"I wish I could say I regret ever accepting a job for VanirCorp, but then… I'd have never met Elsa," Theodore said with a noticeably wistful voice.

Sensing that he was acting out of more than just selfless altruism, Anna quickened her pace until she fell in step alongside Theodore. "You _care_ about her, don't you?"

If it wasn't for the red emergency lights, Anna would have seen that Theodore had started to blush.

"I- I… well, um… yes, yes I do," Theodore stammered nervously.

"That's good," Anna replied. "She's been on her own for a very long time. I just wish I could have found her sooner."

"Yeah," Theodore chuckled. "Me too."

They both fell silent for a moment as they continued to ascend the stairwell until they reached a landing where Theodore paused and looked at Anna.

"I know you guys are sisters but, uh… y- you won't… say anything to her, will you?" Theodore asked delicately.

Anna smiled and clasped the man on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me."

Theodore sighed in relief. "Thanks… I appreci-"

A few landings above them, a door slammed open and multiple voices could be heard.

"We need to search the stairs. Start heading down, I'll go up!"

"Roger. Shout if you see anything, alright?"

Anna readied her weapon once more. "Oh shit, we got company," she whispered. "Ready?" she glanced over to Theodore.

"Ready," Theodore nodded firmly.

"Follow my lead."

Taking point, Anna resumed ascending the stairwell while Theodore took up the rear. Together, they crept their way upwards, keeping their weapons at the ready. As soon as they encountered the descending guard, Anna dropped him with a concentrated burst of plasma. Immediately, voices shouted in response from above.

"What was that?!"

"Targets spotted! Below us, take them out!"

Flechettes and bullets rained down from above, forcing Anna and Theodore to press themselves against the wall as far back from the gap as possible. From their high angle above, the guards couldn't get a clear shot on either of them yet, so Anna pressed her advantage and charged up the stairs.

"She's moving! There!'

Anna felt a few rounds slam into her back, causing her to nearly stumble and fall over but she kept pressing forwards. "Agh, fuck me, that hurts!" she hissed as she regained her footing.

The wind had been almost knocked from her lung but thankfully, her armor had blocked the bullets from penetrating through. In response, Anna came up to another landing while Theodore struggled to catch up to her.

On the opposite side, across the gap and above her, a single guard took aim with his weapon at Anna. However, she reacted quicker and blasted him with plasma bolts, igniting his armor and causing him to burst into flame. The guard dropped his weapon and began to panic. He desperately stumbled about, then tripped over the railing and plummeted multiple storeys to his death, screaming all the while.

Just then, Anna heard the door immediately behind her slam open.

"Hey, Anna! Behind you, look out!" Theodore shouted in alarm as he took aim in Anna's direction.

Ducking her head, Anna dodged a guard's fist and then moved out of the way just as Theodore fired his flechette rifle. His aim wasn't perfect however and the first two flechettes struck the wall behind them while the third caught the guard in his shoulder.

The guard grunted in pain and fell back against the door. Temporarily vulnerable, Anna rushed forward and struck him right in the throat with her metal fist, collapsing his windpipe. Choking and gasping for air, the guard threw out another wild haymaker which Anna blocked, then she followed up by grabbing the guard by his collar before she tossed him over the railing.

"Damn," Theodore said as he caught up to Anna and peeked over the railing. "You got a mean left hook."

"Nothing to it," Anna sighed. "Nice shot by the way. Pattern was a little wide, but you saved my ass. Thanks."

"No problem," Theodore shrugged, then glanced at a sign on their current landing. "We're close now, just a few more floors."

"Great, let's g-"

A hail of flechettes whizzed up past their ears from below where a squad of androids was pursuing them.

"Goddamn it!" Anna shouted as she shoved Theodore backwards to safety. "Go on, I'll deal with them!"

Theodore started ascending the stairs once more, firing blindly over the railing as he went. Meanwhile, Anna withdrew another EMP grenade, primed the trigger then held it out over the gap as she timed the drop.

"One… two… three!" Anna dropped the EMP grenade, then ducked back.

A few seconds later, the grenade detonated and the lights in the stairwell below them were disabled. As for the androids pursuing them, they short-circuited as they collapsed into each other, forming an impassable heap of metal jammed right in the stairwell.

Racing ahead, Anna climbed up the remaining steps until she reached the landing where the engineering department was. Theodore was waiting off to the side, who looked over to Anna as she approached.

"They've probably locked down this floor by now," Theodore said. "What's the plan here?"

"I don't really know," Anna replied sheepishly. "I've been kind of figuring it out as I go along."

"A- are you serious? You stormed _the_ most secure building in all of New York to save your sister and you don't even have a plan?"

"Mmhmm!"

"Oh my… I'm gonna die here."

"We're not dead yet," Anna said. "Look, how far is it to your terminal?"

"Not far. Once I'm in there I can seal the doors, and I can show you a service passage that will let you slip by the guards."

"See? Now we have a plan, we just need to get there."

"I… I guess?"

"Just stick close. When I move, you move! Got it?"

"Got it!"

With that, Anna pressed her ear to the door. On the other side, she could hear a large group of androids and guards alike as they prepared their defenses. To take advantage of the fact that they were momentarily undetected, Anna pulled the pin on a frag grenade, then braced herself against the door. Opposite to her, Theodore took up a similar position.

Anna nodded to Theodore and gestured towards the door handle. Sensing her intention, Theodore laid his hand on it, then waited for Anna's signal.

"Now!"

He opened the door just enough to allow Anna to toss the frag grenade through, then as soon as she did, he slammed the door shut. Guards shouted in alarm and instant later, an explosion rocked the interior of the hallway beyond.

Next, Anna kicked the door open and opened fired immediately upon anybody who remained exposed and out of cover. They entered a maintenance area, where the guards and androids had set up improvised barricades to slow their path. Anna let her weapon shoot out hot bolts of plasma all along the length of the hallway, striking guards and androids at random. She kept firing as she crossed the width of the hallway with Theodore in tow until they reached a stack of crates where they sought cover.

"I'm out," Anna said as she flinched from a storm of return fire which ripped at the edges of the crates. "Cover me!"

Theodore peeked around the opposite side, then fired his weapon with undisciplined accuracy. His flechettes soared through the air - mostly striking cover or ripping around their opponents - but it succeeded in suppressing them and keeping their heads down. At the other end, Anna slotted in a new battery cartridge, pulled the charging handle then leaned out and tossed another frag grenade in their direction while they were pinned down.

As soon as it exploded, Anna stepped out of cover and gunned down any remaining guards and androids as she advanced with her unrelenting assault. Once it was all clear and the smoke had settled, Anna glanced back and saw Theodore emerging from their cover unharmed.

"You good?" Anna asked.

Theodore looked down at himself and tapped his chest with his hands. "Yeah, still got all my parts," he chuckled. "You?"

Anna wiggled her metal fingers. "Eh, I could use a hand."

"Ha!" Theodore laughed as he pressed past Anna. "Th- that's a good one."

Now that the engineering department was cleared, Anna followed Theodore until they reached a large server farm. Once they passed through the thick doors, Theodore sealed it shut behind them, then smashed the terminal apart with the stock of his weapon before plugging it with a few flechettes for good measure. From there on, Theodore navigated through the stacks with speed and assuredness granted by familiarity until they reached a small, out of the way office tucked against a large wall. There, he immediately set his flechette rifle down on a messy desk, then went over to a nearby vent cover where he popped it out of place then gestured for Anna to get in.

"It's this way, head on in," Theodore said.

"What will you do?" Anna asked

Theodore shook his head. "Much as I'd like to come, I've been slowing you down and you'll move faster without me," he said then went over to his desk where he took a seat at his terminal putting on a headset. "Besides, I'm more useful here anyways. I'm gonna purge everything they had on Project SNOW and Elsa. All of their data so nobody can come after her."

"Yeah, yeah that's a good idea," Anna agreed.

"Now go on, I'll contact you on your omni-pad and keep an eye on you through the camera feeds, keep you pointed in the right direction."

Anna nodded then quickly re-enabled the calling and messaging functions of her omni-pad. Just as she was about to say something, a loud and sharp banging at the door interrupted her. A group of guards was outside, trying to break their way in through the sturdy doors.

"Quick!" Theodore said urgently. "I'll catch up with you as soon as it's clear, now go!"

"Okay… okay!" Anna said, then crawled inside the vent where she turned around and shot one last look at Theodore. "I'll see you soon."

Theodore nodded, then shooed Anna away as he turned his attention to his terminal.

With that, Anna turned around and pressed deeper into the service passages that lay hidden behind the walls. She approached a pipe which led upwards towards a ventilation duct, which she climbed and shuffled along until the space widened out once more. There, Anna's omni-pad lit up with a call, which she picked up right away.

"Anna? It's Theodore, can you hear me?"

"Uh huh," Anna replied. "Loud and clear."

"Good. Keep following that path for now."

"Okey dokey."

Doing as instructed, Anna followed along through the service passage, crouching underneath tangles of wires and cables, or vaulting over large pipes while occasionally turning this way and that. Eventually, she came upon what appeared to be a dead end when a metal panel ahead of her opened and a blue light blinked in response.

There, Anna stepped out into a corridor where again, Theodore addressed her.

"Alright, I've got you on the feeds now. Keep heading straight, then make a right."

Anna nodded, then started walking. She was still in the engineering department and nearby, she could hear shouting as guards attempted to break down the door to Theodore's hideout. Crouching low and pressing herself tight against a crate, Anna peeked out and observed her opposition.

"There's four of them ahead of you, blocking your path," Theodore said. "Think you can handle them?"

"Yeah, I got this," Anna replied.

Poking her head out of cover, Anna rested the barrel of her plasma rifle against the top of her crate for support, then rapidly squeezed off four controlled bursts of plasma fire. The guards had barely enough time to react as they crumpled beneath the attack and collapsed into smoking heaps.

"Nice. That should buy some more time. Now, just a little further, then make your first right," Theodore said.

"First right," Anna repeated to confirm then went along her way, stepping over the smouldering corpses as she passed them by.

Once she reached a junction, she made a right turn where she soon found herself entering a small maintenance area. However, this one was empty and at the end tucked away in a corner was another emergency stairwell.

"Take that staircase," Theodore directed. "Elsa's floor is three levels up."

"Can you see her?" Anna asked. "Is she safe?"

"It looks like… she's with Rosenthal right now in her apartment. You'll have to take her personal elevator to get there, it's in the center of the executive floor. You can't miss it."

"What's happening to her?"

"Nothing yet, but… you've got a problem."

"What is it?"

"There's a small army between you and Elsa."

"Of course there is," Anna chuckled dryly.

"I can try and hack into some of the androids, shut them down for you which should make it easier. It'll take some time though."

"Do it. Anything else I should know about?"

"No, not right no- wait a minute… is that… Hans?"

Anna frowned. "Hans? Who, that ArmaRex corpo? What's he doing here?"

"He's a security liaison, VanirCorp contracts services from ArmaRex. He's also the one who took my eye."

"Oh, well if I see him I'll be sure to repay the favor for you."

"I'd appreciate that. Now hurry, the stairwell is clear for now but it looks like they're starting another sweep on the floors above you."

"Right, on it," Anna said, then entered the stairwell.

As she climbed upwards, Anna felt a fire grow within her heart with every step of the way. Inch by inch, she drew closer to Elsa and gradually, Anna's resolve strengthened and galvanized into selfless determination.

 _I'm almost there, Elsa,_ Anna thought. _Just hang on, I'm coming to get you._

Anna was tired, but she did not feel it. Her limbs were carried onward by a mixture of hope and adrenaline. Anna was hurt, but she did not let it slow her down. Her chest and back were already bruised from the shots she had sustained, but she didn't let the pain get in her way. Most of all, Anna was angry. She was angry at the faceless corpos who had used Elsa. She was furious with the woman who had granted Elsa unnatural life, only to rob it from her.

She had fought her way through multiple floors, cut down countless foes, and she had done it all for Elsa. Anna was only here for Elsa and damned anything else that got in her way. There were many things on Anna's mind at the moment, but Elsa was her sole focus. Right now, Elsa needed her.

Once she reached the executive floor, Anna opened the door and stepped out into an empty maintenance room. There, she crept her way forward, sneaking through empty offices and meeting rooms until Theodore's voice crackled from her omni-pad.

"Alright, Anna? It looks like they've set up a defensive position around the elevator. You're gonna have to get past them."

"How many are we talking?"

"At least a dozen and half."

"Shit. Any luck with the andys?"

"Working on it. Bypassing their firewalls now, but it's gonna take a little more time. I- shit!"

"What's wrong?"

"I've just lost you on the feeds, they must know I'm in their system! I'm blind, Anna, I'll try and get it working again!"

"No, focus on the andys. Then get your ass up here fast as you can. I have a feeling we're gonna need to get out of here quick."

"What are you gonna do?"

Anna glanced down at the plasma rifle in her hands. "I'm gonna improvise."

With that, Anna exited from the office suites and stepped out into a wide hallway. At the far end, was circular lobby that had balconies overlooking the space as well as tall pillars that lined the perimeter. In the center was an elevator that led up to Rosenthal's personal apartment, where somewhere, Elsa was waiting for Anna.

Crouching low and moving slow, Anna crept up to an overturned desk to assess the situation ahead in the lobby when suddenly, a bright white spotlight shone on her, forcing her to duck down.

"Anna! We know you're here!" Hans shouted from an unseen position.

A squad of androids appeared from behind the pillars and approached Anna's position, stopping a short distance away while keeping their guns aimed at her.

"You've come this far, killed a lot my men!"

At the far end, Hans appeared on a balcony overlooking the lobby. A wide and taunting grin was plastered over his face.

"This is going to be your only chance to surrender! Lay down your arms, come out with your hands up, and I promise… nothing will happen to Elsa."

On either side of the lobby, more security guards appeared and aimed their weapons at Anna. From nearly every direction, she was hopelessly outmanned and outgunned.

"If you don't, just think of what they'll do to your poor sister! They're gonna erase every last trace of the person she once was… and it will be your fault!"

Anna scowled and tightened her grip on her plasma rifle.

"I'm going to count to five."

Looking around in desperation for any escape routes or alternative directions of attack, Anna found none. She was pinned down.

"One…"

"Okay… okay… think, think!" Anna whispered to herself.

"Two…"

Anna performed a final check of her weapons, ensuring they were all loaded and ready for action.

"Three…"

She then adjusted her position so that she was crouching and ready to break into a sprint as soon as possible.

"Four…"

Next, she unhooked her last frag grenade and pulled off its pins.

"Five… alright! Have it your wa- what the fuck!?"

A few androids in the group standing ahead of Anna started to short-circuit, spitting out sparks as they convulsed and collapsed to the floor. Whatever Theodore had done, it worked to tremendous effect. The remaining androids who managed to stay upright began firing their weapons in random directions, striking several of their own and even managing to wound a few other security guards in the process.

Feeling reckless tenacity swell up in her heart, Anna leaned out of cover and tossed her grenade high into the lobby. It detonated mid-air and peppered the entire space with shrapnel. A handful of guards were wounded in the blast and only one was killed but it was a start. Anna had surprise on her side so she capitalized on her advantage and sprinted outwards, firing her plasma rifle on full auto at any guards who were exposed.

Meanwhile, the remaining androids who had gone haywire began to wander around the lobby, twitching and firing their weapons at any target that crossed their path.

"Fuck, shoot her!" Hans shouted as he withdrew a sidearm and began firing at Anna. "Non-lethal shots only! Rosenthal wants her alive!"

Anna had overheard that and grinned maniacally. She wasn't restricted by such limitations.

The guards who weren't immediately preoccupied with destroying the rogue androids turned their attention back to Anna, who was running along the edge of the lobby between pillar to pillar, firing from the hip as she went. Once she reached a large rectangular planter, she dove behind it and reloaded her plasma rifle. However, the spotlight was still trained on her position, exposing her to fire so he had to deal with that first.

Using her last two EMP grenades, Anna chucked them up onto the balcony where Hans had been standing to destroy the spotlight as well as the surrounding lights. After they popped and sizzled, Anna stood up from cover and resumed gunning down the guards.

"Elsa!" Anna roared as she held down the trigger. "I'm just here for _Elsa_!"

By now, the remaining androids had been destroyed, cutting Anna's opposing force in half. All she had to do now was deal with the rest of the security guards and Hans.

"I've already killed all your friends!" Anna shouted. "And I'll kill the rest of you fuckers too!"

"Goddamn it!" Hans shouted from somewhere above. "Get around her!"

On and on Anna fought as she alternated in ducking and firing her weapon. Eventually, the barrel of the plasma rifle turned white from the sheer amount of heat it was generating and soon, the thing burst into flames in her hands as it came apart.

"Fuck!" Anna hissed as she dropped the smouldering thing and ducked back down as her metal hand caught fire. "Ow, ouch!" she waved her hand around and blew it until the fires were extinguished. "Come on, damn it!"

"Yeah, we still haven't solved the overheating problem yet!" Hans taunted. "You get what you pay for though, right?"

"Fuck you!" Anna shouted as she immediately withdrew her hand cannon and fired in his direction, before catching two rounds in her side. "Ungh!" she grunted as she fell over.

On the floor, Anna turned over and settled her sights on the guard who had managed to flank her, then shot the man straight through his neck. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his throat as blood spurted out, pooling on the ground around him. With him dead, Anna crawled backwards until she sat with her back against the planter while bullets shredded the air around her.

Down a weapon, Anna still had her two holdout guns so as soon as there was a break in the gunfire, she sprung up to her feet and ran towards a nearby pillar, picking off two guards with precision headshots as she ran. Once she was behind cover again, she stopped to reload her hand cannon.

"You're working for an evil witch!" Anna shouted to dissuade her foes. "Just give me Elsa, or anybody who stands in my way is gonna get a bullet!"

Dropping to her knees, Anna dodged a bullet aimed at her head just in time. In the same movement, she reached for her sidearm and dropped another guard trying to get around her with three shots to his center mass. As he died and fell to the floor, he squeezed the trigger of his own gun and fired off a round which flew towards Anna and grazed the metal of her left arm.

"Shit, that was a close one!" Anna muttered as she finished reloading her hand cannon, then rose to her full height once more with a gun in each hand.

At this point, Anna had now managed to cut down much of the remaining guards and only a handful remained aside from Hans. Abandoning her cover to bring the fight to them, Anna strode out towards the center of the lobby, dual wielding her firearms and firing as she walked.

As she did that, the remaining guards exposed themselves to take aim at Anna. It was a dangerous maneuver, but Anna was running purely on killer instinct now and she let her mind turn blank as her body moved and reacted of its own will.

She dropped one guard with a shot from her hand cannon which struck him in the eye, blowing apart his head in a shower of gore. The next guard fell to her sidearm that Anna used to place three rounds starting from his stomach and ending at his chest.

As she turned and adjusted her aim, a flechette struck her from behind in the shoulder, while another bullet slammed into her gut. Anna's armor bore the brunt of it all, but the impact knocked her to the ground as air was forced out of her lungs. She fell on her back, then before she could rise up again to shoot, a boot appeared from the side and hit her across the forehead. It was a heavy blow which dazed her and left her vision blurry as she coughed up a glob of blood.

When Anna's vision finally cleared, she found herself staring down the end of a flechette rifle being held by the guard who struck her.

"I've got her!" the guard shouted as he looked away off to the side. "She's down, I- agh!"

Anna reached up with her cybernetic arm and yanked the rifle from his grasp. Then, using it like a club, she swept it out at his feet and knocked him to the ground. After that, Anna rose up and climbed on top of the man where she began punching him in the face repeatedly with her metal fist until she caved in his skull. As soon as she had finished dealing with that guard, Anna rolled off of him, dodging a spray of bullets as she went and retrieved her fallen hand cannon. She took aim at the final guard then blew off his leg below the knee, then finished him off with a headshot.

The lobby was now empty and just as Anna was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a strong hand wrapped itself around her throat and lifted her high into the air.

"Goddamn, you're spunky, I'll give you that," Hans hissed as he choked Anna. "If I had the two of you working for me…"

"Get… your fuckin' hands off me you… crazy fucker!" Anna said between choked gasps as she struggled for air.

Still, Hans's grip was like iron due to the cybernetic implants in his arms. He flexed his muscles and squeezed off Anna's windpipe completely, drawing her down to his face as he did.

"What a shame," Hans taunted.

Anna kicked and struggled against Hans but his grip was too strong. Her vision was beginning to turn black while her lungs were burning for air. Before she could pass out, three flechettes flew through the air and impaled Hans through the shoulder, forcing him to drop her.

"Gah, damn!" Hans hissed as he stumbled back, attempting to pry the shocking flechettes out of his synthetic flesh.

Theodore had appeared at the entrance to the lobby, holding a smoking flechette rifle in his hands.

Hans ripped the first flechette from his shoulder then tossed it aside. "You?!" he shouted with hateful indignation as he spotted Theodore. "I knew I should have fuckin' killed you, you little weasel!"

With a flick of his wrist, Hans extended the pulse-blade from his arm and charged at Theodore, intending to rip him apart. However, Anna had recovered and kicked out Hans's feet, tripping him to the ground. Then, she attempted to crawl over to her fallen weapons when Hans reached out and dragged her back by her leg.

"Get off me!" Anna shouted as she attempted to resist but it proved fruitless.

Hans brought his arm up and slashed Anna across the back, slicing through the fabric of her long-coat but failing to penetrate her armor. Anna rolled over onto her back and raised her cybernetic arm just in time to deflect a rapid flurry of vicious swipes from Hans's pulse-blade which sang with deadly voltage. She crawled backwards, blocking the blade which screeched against the metal of her arm while Hans continued to rain down blow after blow.

With a furious roar, Hans drew back his arm and pointed his blade right at Anna's throat and just as he lunged forward, he was shot in the back of his knee with another flechette from Theodore. Anna used that time to crawl away, while Hans howled with pain as he reached down and attempted to remove the shocking metal spike.

"Stings, doesn't it!" Theodore shouted at Hans, taunting him in repayment for the torture he endured. "I was kinda hoping I'd get to kill you!"

In his premature celebration, Theodore drew just a little too close to Hans as he approached him. Hans swung out his pulse-blade in a wide arc, cutting Theodore's rifle in half, then rammed the full length of his blade into his gut.

Theodore collapsed to his knees as he screamed in agony.

" _No_!" Anna shouted.

Desperately, she looked around for anything she could use as a weapon, then settled her sights on the flechette that Hans had removed from his shoulder. Anna quickly snatched it up, then rushed to help Theodore. In the meantime, Hans cruelly twisted the blade, letting the electrical currents run through Theodore's body to cause further agony.

"You thought you had me," Hans hissed.

Using her brief moment to strike while Hans was distracted, Anna crossed the remaining distance to the pair. With her metal hand, she grabbed the left side of Hans' head and pulled it back. With her right hand, she brought the flechette around and plunged it into his right eye.

Hans howled out in shock, horror, and pain as he clutched his eye and retracted his blade from Theodore's gut. He fell on his back then thrashed about as he shouted and cursed in fury.

"Fuck, _fuck_!" Hans yelled. "My eye, you bitch! I'll end you, I swear to chri-"

Before he could finish, Anna went over to him then raised her foot in the air. She then brought the heel of her boot crashing down onto the end of the flechette, forcing it through the rest of Hans's skull where it popped out the back of his head. The ArmaRex security liason shuddered and gurgled for a few seconds longer, then eventually became still.

"Ha… he heh," Theodore chuckled weakly. "You got him… you killed that sick son of a bitch."

"Theodore!" Anna exclaimed as she went over to his side and propped him up. "How bad is it? Can you stand?"

Theodore coughed up another glob of blood and nodded. "Yeah, just nicked me that's all… he- help me up?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course. Come on, ready?" Anna looped Theodore's arm around her shoulders then rose to a crouching position.

Grunting and wheezing, Theodore straightened up to a standing position alongside Anna, who supported his weight.

"I think that might be all of them," Anna laughed deliriously as they limped over to the elevator. "You're gonna be okay. Just hang in there, alright?"

"For now," Theodore coughed and winced as he clutched his wound.

Blood was spilling out from his gut fast, and if he didn't receive medical attention soon, he would certainly die.

"There'll be more," Theodore wheezed. "I'm sure of it."

Anna nodded, then quickly bent down and retrieved her two guns. "Come on then, let's go get Elsa and get the fuck out of here."

Together, Anna and Theodore limped their way to the elevator, then hit the button to ascend. They were both bloodied, bruised, and beaten but they had finally made it to their goal. All that remained was one final push to reach Elsa.

Once they reached the very top floor of VanirCorp, the elevator doors opened, greeting them with a familiar sight. The trunk of the redwood tree remained where it was, and all was deathly silent and still. Anna and Theodore stumbled out of the elevator and steadily limped their way across the hall until they reached the doors to Matilda's apartment.

Two androids stood guard, and Anna shot them to pieces with her hand cannon. That was all that remained of their opposition and now, Anna and Theodore stood before the set of massive double doors.

"You… you go on," Theodore muttered weakly. "Someone's g- got to… watch your backs…"

His strength was fading fast and his body was becoming more limp by the second. Anna was tempted to argue just then when suddenly, two voices could be heard shouting at each other as they argued on the other side of the door. Anna recognized one of them as Elsa's voice.

Theodore smiled weakly. "It's okay, go to her."

Anna nodded then gently set Theodore down on the ground by the door. There, she passed him one of the fallen flechette rifles then patted his shoulder reassuringly.

"We'll be back soon, alright?" Anna smiled and knelt before the dying man. "Don't do anything silly now."

Theodore gave a bloody grin and waved Anna off, and with that, she turned back to the door and took a deep breath.

She tightened her grip on her hand cannon, took a few deep breaths, then kicked in the door.


	34. Sins of the Mother

* * *

"No," Matilda said firmly to the android escort. "Out of the question, I am not leaving my home. I'd sooner die."

Elsa was walking just behind the pair as they proceeded to Matilda's apartment, but she was flanked on all sides by security androids. That, in addition to the suppression collar she wore around her neck ensured that she didn't attempt to break free again at this critical juncture.

"Ma'am, please reconsider," the android said. "The fire is continuing to spread and has already reached the second and third floors, not to mention the-"

Matilda huffed indignantly and pressed onwards. "Whoever these terrorists are, we'll deal with them. This isn't the first time anybody has attempted a hostile takeover and it won't be the last."

"That's just the thing ma'am. There's only one of them, acting alone."

"What?" Matilda stopped and fixed the android with a hard stare. "What do you mean, how can there only be one terrorist?"

"Yes. A woman, with red hair. By the looks of it, she's also freed Engineer Sorkin from captivity. They appear to be working together, and they're on their way up here now."

Elsa's eyes widened in surprise and she felt her heart swell with a potent mixture of pride, hope, and concern for Anna. To hear that her friend, Theodore, who was alive and well also brought further elation to her soul, even though she hadn't missed the mention that he had been in captivity.

"A red-headed woman," Matilda scowled, then glanced over to Elsa. "Of course, I should have expected this much, but the tenacity? Your sister is quite the hero, Elsa."

After a moment, Matilda's expression morphed from disdain to amusement as an evil glint appeared in her eye.

"Well, she's already saved me the work of finding her," Matilda smirked, then turned to address the android. "I want her alive, but shoot to maim. We don't need her causing any more theatrics than she already has, then double the security on the executive floor. Do it now."

The android dipped its head in acknowledgement. "At once, ma'am," it said as it departed their company.

Elsa's hope which she had felt grow in her heart vanished immediately as she felt tight fear wrap itself around her. It was true what Matilda had said. Even the mere thought of Anna being injured, let alone being subjected to whatever cruel devices of torture she had planned were enough to compel Elsa into obedience.

"Just stop!" Elsa shouted as she stepped up to Matilda with a defiant glare. "You don't need to do this, you've already got me!"

The security androids around Elsa immediately aimed their weapons at her head, but she didn't flinch nor back down.

"No, no I don't. But I will, soon enough," Matilda leaned forward until she was right in Elsa's face. "Two of you stand guard outside. The rest of you, leave us," she cocked her head sharply and gestured for them to depart their company. Secure the floor below, then once the red-haired woman is disabled, bring her to me at once."

With that, all but two of the androids left towards the elevator.

"Come along, Elsa," Matilda ordered as she resumed walking. "We shall wait for your _sister,_ and in the meantime, we still have much to discuss."

Elsa glared hatefully after Matilda as she tensed and flexed her fingers, resisting the urge to throttle the older woman right then and there. Still, the threat to Anna hung over her head, so she bit her tongue and fell in step behind Matilda until they entered her apartment. The two androids guards then shut the door behind them, finally leaving Elsa alone with her 'mother.'

Matilda walked past Elsa, pacing over to her desk where she kept a decanter of cognac and two tulip shaped glasses. She poured a hefty amount into both, then picked them up and carried them over to her fainting chair where she set them down on the coffee table.

"Sit," Matilda said as she pointed to the easy chair across from her as she assumed her usual spot. "Drink."

Elsa shook her head. "I don't drink."

"I said _drink_ goddamn it," Matilda hissed "I'm your mother, and you'll share a drink with me. So wipe that petulant look off your face this instant, and sit… down."

"Fine," Elsa said through gritted teeth, then took her seat across from Matilda.

She watched as Matilda lifted the glass to her mouth and then gulped down the dark brown liquid in one go. Elsa tentatively reached for her own glass, then gently sipped her cognac, grimacing at the taste of the strong alcohol.

"Elsa, be a dear and pour me another won't you?" Matilda asked as she wiggled her glass. "A stiff one too, if you don't mind."

Elsa glanced irritably at Matilda. "I think you can pour it yourself just fi-"

"Pour!" Matilda shouted. "Would you kindly?" she added with a sweet and malicious smile.

Sighing heavily, Elsa stood up from her chair then went over to Matilda's desk to retrieve the decanter when she stopped and hesitated. Sitting just next to it was an all too familiar glass jar that held a preserved chrysanthemum flower inside. Elsa had seen this flower before and yet, she regarded it now as she was finally and truly seeing it for the first time.

She felt a flash in the back of her mind and her nose began to bleed. All at once, Elsa understood the significance of the flower as it was the same one she had seen in her dream.

 _This flower… I know it,_ Elsa thought as she reached for the jar. _It belonged to my mother… my real one. Me and Anna's… how is it here?_

"Elsa!" Matilda called out. "Are you hourly? I'm waiting!"

"Goddamn you," Elsa hissed under her breath, wiped her nose clean of any blood, then picked up the decanter instead.

Crossing over back to where Matilda was sitting, Elsa did as she was told and poured out more cognac into the glass that was held out towards her. For a second, their eyes locked and Elsa could instantly tell from the look in Matilda's eyes that she knew exactly what Elsa would find on her desk. In fact, Elsa saw right through Matilda's little game and she knew that she was being ordered around as part of a sickening power play. It was a test of her willpower to strain between resistance and obedience.

"Thank you," Matilda said, then tipped the glass to her mouth once more and downed the alcohol in one easy swig. "Sit. There's something I'd like to ask you."

Elsa returned to her seat, then looked at Matilda expectantly.

"What do you want?"

"I want... my... life back, _mother_ ," Elsa said venomously.

Matilda set down her glass then reached for a packet of cigarettes. "Hmm. The candle that burns half as long, burns twice as bright," she put a cigarette in her mouth, then reached for a lighter. "And you have burned so very very bright, Elsa," she lit her cigarette and took a deep drag, then casually blew out a cloud of smoke. "What do you imagine is going to happen _if_ Anna even succeeds and frees you from this place? Do you honestly believe I would ever let that happen?"

Elsa gripped the armrests of her seat tightly, turning her knuckles white from an effort that normally would have crushed the material beneath her strength.

"Well?" Matilda snapped. "Speak up!"

Just as she was about to, a cacophony of gunfire and explosions echoed out from the floor immediately beneath them. Anna had reached the executive floor and by the sound of it, she was currently fighting through a small army just to get to Elsa.

Matilda glanced over with idle curiosity, then returned her piercing gaze to Elsa.

" _When_ I'm free, I'll go far away from this city with Anna," Elsa said calmly. "Far away from VanirCorp, far away from all the corruption, and far away from _you_."

"Free, tsk tsk tsk," Matilda shook her head. "Nobody is free in this world, Elsa," she said then pointed out the window. "Think of those peasants down there, struggling to live and scrape out an existence from the refuse. Do you think they're free? Think of the elites, the power-hungry hoarders of wealth and prestige. They're slaves to their ambition and greed, are they free?"

Matilda stood up and paced over to the window, clasping her hands behind her back as she gazed out into the night. As Elsa watched her, an intrusive voice entered her mind, one that sounded like herself and not herself at the same time.

_Push her through the window. End this now. For us, Elsa. For Anna._

"Think of me… and my sickness," Matilda waved her cigarette around. "Am I free? Was my father, or his father? Were they free, Elsa? Did they have a choice in the matter, do any of us?" she glanced back at Elsa with a hard expression. "Everything has a price, Elsa. You didn't have a choice, but your life was already bought and paid for. You just didn't know it yet."

In the meantime, that little voice continued to speak to Elsa.

_All it would take is just a little push..._

Elsa rose from her seat and walked over to where Matilda was standing, squaring off with the older woman. "You say that as if your hands were tied in the matter, that you had no other option but to do the things that you did! Don't kid yourself, you may as well have killed me in my first life. You had a choice!"

"A choice? What choice did you have? You were just another gutter rat, dead in the streets. Nobody knew you! Nobody cared about you! I brought you up, I made you what you are, I raised you from the dead! You should be grateful for even the opportunity to be breathing in my presence you disobedient, self-righteous, precious little bitch!"

A wave of nausea passed over Elsa as the little voice became louder and more persistent.

_If you don't do this, then I will._

Elsa's hands twitched seemingly of their accord as she blinked back angry tears that were streaming down her face relentlessly. "You should have left me as a corpse!"

Matilda recoiled in shock from Elsa as if she couldn't believe the ingratitude that she was hearing. "I gave you a life!"

"I had a life!" Elsa wailed. "And you took that from me! You took _everything_ from me!"

"Come now, really?" Matilda countered. "What life would that have been? Starving on the streets, fighting just to survive. Without me, you'd be-"

Her heated expression had suddenly turned blank as her eyes glazed over. She blinked several times, staring off into the distance after which she settled her gaze on Elsa once more and vague recognition appeared behind her eyes.

It was another episode of her Alzheimer's and Elsa knew it. Except, of course, Elsa wasn't really Elsa at that moment. Some part of her mind that was riddled with years and years of grief and sorrow had finally turned into hateful spite and rage. That part was Nora, who had been forcibly repressed and shut away time and time again until Elsa forgot about her. But she remembered who she was now. Nora remembered the pain, she remembered the anguish, and she remembered every last ounce of malice and evil that was ever dealt to her.

"You're sick," Nora said in an acidic tone. "You're just a sick old woman!"

Matilda scowled. "Eleanor, that is no way to speak to your mother! How _dare_ you-"

Nora reached out and wrapped her hands around Matilda's throat. Even with the suppression collar on, Nora didn't need Elsa's enhanced strength to do this. Immediately, the older woman's expression turned into shock and fear as she struggled to breathe.

"My name…"

Nora tightened her grip on Matilda's throat, closing off her windpipe completely.

"Is…"

She started strangling Matilda in earnest, forcing her to her knees while she wrung her neck out.

" _Nora_!"

Matilda's eyes bulged in terror, and she reached up and clawed at Nora's strong grasp. "El… Eleanor! Yo- you're… hurting… me!"

"Say it!" Nora shouted. "Say my name!"

With a mighty heave, Nora pulled Matilda to the side and shoved her down towards her desk. She wasn't even aware that down below, the shooting and explosions had finally ceased.

Matilda crawled backwards until her back came up against her desk where she then reached behind herself and produced a small pistol she kept concealed on her person. "St- stop… stop this at once! Eleanor! I am your mother!" she said frantically as she took aim with a shaky hand. "Don't you recognize me?"

Unperturbed, Nora continued advancing and barely reacted even when Matilda fired off three rounds in her direction. The first two missed, but the third struck Nora in her abdomen, though she hardly even felt it as her whole body was coursing with adrenaline. She approached Matilda then ripped the gun out of her hand. After that, she lifted the jar with the chrysanthemum flower to inspect it, then looked down at the prostrated woman.

Nora knelt down and pinned Matilda down by her throat, while with the other hand she raised the jar in the air high above her head.

"My name is Nora!"

She brought the jar crashing down into Matilda's head, striking it with a soft squelch.

" _Remember_ me!"

She raised the jar in the air once more and struck Matilda again, who screamed in horror and pain.

"Remember _me_!"

Nora repeatedly bashed the jar into Matilda's face as vengeance and anger and rage consumed her entire being. She was so singularly focused on bludgeoning Matilda to death that she didn't even hear as the door to the apartment burst open.

Anna had arrived. As soon as she looked over to the source of the commotion, her jaw fell slack at the sight of the gruesome scene.

Nora kept striking Matilda in the face with the jar until the glass shattered in her hand and split apart. Much of her body became covered with enough blood to hide the fact that she herself was bleeding from a gunshot wound now. Even so, Nora had become so lost and overwhelmed in her rampage that she didn't stop striking Matilda until she felt hands on her waist which began to pry her away.

"Get the fuck off me!" Nora shouted as she struggled in their grasp. "Don't touch me!"

"Elsa, stop! Stop!" Anna said as she pulled her away. "It's me!"

Next to them, Matilda sputtered and coughed up blood before gurgling her final breath. "Eleanor…" she sighed, and with that, the CEO of VanirCorp died.

Having achieved her vengeance on the architect of their suffering, Nora relinquished control of Elsa's body and vanished into the void once more, leaving her alone with Anna and Matilda's corpse.

Elsa's gaze sharpened back into focus and when she looked up, she saw Anna's face.

"Look," Anna held Elsa up by cupping her cheeks, staring directly into her eyes. "It's me… it's Anna."

Elsa stared into her bloody hands with the flower clutched loosely in her grip, then back up at Anna. "I- I… I…"

"Oh, Elsa…"

Anna pulled Elsa into her embrace, wrapping her arms as tightly as she could around the white-haired woman. Elsa shook and trembled uncontrollably, then buried her face into the crook between Anna's neck and shoulder, crying into the soft warm skin there.

"Anna…" Elsa sobbed.

"Shhhhh, it's okay, Elsa," Anna murmured softly. "It's okay now, you're okay."

Together, they stayed like that for a long time. Anna held up Elsa even as she fell apart from the gravity of what she had just done that came crashing down on her. Elsa weakly brought her arms around Anna in return and shaken as she was, she held onto Anna as if her very life depended on it. Eventually, Anna pulled away first and cupped Elsa's face between her hands as she looked her in the eye.

"It's over," Anna said. "It's all over. Nobody is going to hurt you ever again, I promise."

Elsa let out a shuddering breath, then held up the bloody flower she still clutched in her hand so that Anna could see their tarnished family heirloom.

Anna's eyes immediately widened in recognition. "Is that…"

"Mom's flower," Elsa replied. "I… I've ruined it."

"No. You didn't," Anna reached around Elsa's neck, removed the suppression collar, then tossed it aside. " _She_ did, it was her. Only her," she looked over to Matilda's corpse. "It's _over,_ Elsa. You're free now."

Elsa sniffed and then nodded her head shakily. She then laid the flower on the floor next to Matilda's corpse.

"Come on," Anna said as she gestured her head towards the door. "Let's go. I'm taking you away from here for good."

Anna helped Elsa rise to her feet, then wrapped an arm around her shoulder as they walked out together. As they approached the door, they heard a short exchange of gunfire, causing Anna to reach for her hand cannon where she held it at the ready in her cybernetic arm.

"Shit, stay behind me," Anna warned. "I'm wearing body armor, you're not."

While Elsa possessed enhanced physical properties, she was certainly by no means invulnerable to harm and she could be killed like anybody else. Now that her adrenaline rush had passed, her senses returned to her and Elsa could feel the pain from the gunshot wound in her abdomen. The bullet was still lodged in her body and her blood was slowly trickling out. Yet, it was masked by the smattering of viscera that was already there.

As soon as she realized what had happened to her, Elsa decided to remain silent about it as she didn't want to worry Anna. Looking at her now, Elsa could see that Anna had been through hell trying to reach her. Her face and hair were matted with sweat and marred with ash. There was an angry bruise on her forehead and a cut on her lower lip. The metal of her cybernetic arm was scratched in several places as if someone had taken a blade to it. Finally, Elsa surmised from the way Anna winced or grunted whenever she turned her torso or with how she limped, she must have sustained multiple gunshots which had been thankfully blocked by the armor she wore.

Anna pressed an ear to the door as they stood before it and found that all was quiet on the other side. "Ready?" she asked as she looked back to Elsa.

"Ready," Elsa muttered, ignoring the pain spreading out through her torso.

Nodding wearily, Anna shoved the door open and held her weapon at the ready, expecting to find trouble yet they found none. Off to the side and nearby the door sat Elsa's friend, Theodore, who was dying.

He was bleeding heavily from a stab wound in his gut and his chest had been riddled with several flechettes. On top of it all, Elsa noticed that one of his eyes had been gouged out. Even so, the man miraculously clung to life and just ahead of him lay a group of dead androids he had managed to fend off.

"Theodore!" Elsa exclaimed in alarm as she left Anna's side and rushed over to her dying friend. "Oh… oh no, what's happened?"

"Hey… Elsa," Theodore coughed and took in short and ragged breaths, then smiled thinly. "You remembered me."

Elsa started to cry again. "Of course I remember you!" she laughed, but it was the desperate and distraught kind. "I never forgot what you did for me."

Next to her, Anna knelt down at Elsa's side and placed a hand comfortingly on Theodore's shoulder.

"Th- they… tried to come in after you," Theodore muttered, nodding his head towards the dead androids. "I did what… did what I could but… they got me… I th- think I'm done."

"No, no!" Elsa shook her head frantically. "No, don't say that. You're going to be fine, we're gonna get you help," she looked over to Anna in her desperation. "Right? Right, Anna?"

Anna smiled reassuringly, but Elsa could tell from the way that it didn't reach her eyes that she knew that Theodore didn't have long left. They both knew.

"Just hang in there!" Elsa pleaded as she turned back to Theodore. "Please!"

"It's gonna be okay, Theodore," Anna said softly. "You did good," she smiled kindly. "Kicked some real ass here."

Anna's own eyes had turned glassy with tears and tried as might to keep her voice calm and even, it was starting to break.

"Not as much as you did," Theodore laughed, then coughed up blood. "It's… the only good thing that I- I've… ever done in my whole life," he looked up at Elsa. "All I ever wanted to do… was the right thing, to... to help… you."

"You did," Elsa nodded then reached down and gently took hold of Theodore's hand. "You did. You helped Anna, you helped me. You saved me."

With the last of his strength, Theodore squeezed Elsa's hand and smiled up at her. After that, he died with a gentle sigh. His eyes clouded over as his gaze lengthened into eternity and finally, his grip slackened and his body fell limp.

"Theodore?" Elsa asked softly. "Theodore?" she asked again, a little more urgently as she squeezed his lifeless hand.

"He's gone," Anna said quietly. "I'm so sorry, Elsa."

Even after her death, Matilda had taken yet another thing from Elsa. Theodore had been Elsa's only friend through the long and painful and lonely years she spent as a captive at VanirCorp.

Theodore had been a kind man, a selfless man, but best of all he had been a good man. He did the best he could and he gave everything he had simply in the name of what was right. In the end, the awkward and quiet engineer, who to anyone might have seemed unremarkable, had died with a smile on his face and as a hero who gave his life to save someone else's. Dying for a noble cause was the most human thing anyone could do.

Tearfully, Elsa carefully laid Theodore's hand over his chest, then she reached up and shut his eyes forever. Finally, she leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you," Elsa whispered. "I'll remember you."

Anna helped Elsa rise to her feet once more then together, they turned their backs and headed for the elevator to reach the roof where Matilda's personal skyscraper was still parked. Once they made it up there, Elsa and Anna stepped into the wintry air. Snowflakes were falling in lazy swirls all around them, slowly burying the whole city beneath a blanket of white. The neon night was contrasted with the bright orange glow of the fire from far below as the VanirCorp building continued to burn. Sirens could be heard blaring out as emergency response teams, fire crews, and police converged on the building.

Elsa and Anna didn't have anything to fear however, for in the chaos and confusion of the blaze, nobody would notice their departure. They piled into the waiting skycar and soon, they were flying off into the night.

"I'm sorry about Theodore," Anna started as they soared over the city, heading back to her apartment. "I didn't know him, but… he seemed like a good person."

By her side, Elsa nodded weakly as her breathing came in more shortly. She was gradually losing her grip on her consciousness and she was growing weaker by the minute.

"I'm taking you away from here, Elsa. I mean it, we're getting out and going far away from this city. Far away from everything where nobody will know us," Anna grinned hopefully at Elsa. "I… I've been meaning to ask you something and I've been thinking about it for a while, I just never got the chance to before. What do you think about going off-world, to the lunar or martian colonies? I mean, there's nothing for us here left on earth. We could go, we could leave tonight. Jump on a transport ship and never look back. We could start again… what do you say?"

Elsa remained unresponsive as it was taking every last ounce of her strength just to remain awake. She clutched her abdomen, attempting to stem some of the steady blood loss.

Sensing that something was wrong, Anna's brows furrowed in concern. "Are you okay?"

Knowing that she couldn't hide her condition from Anna any longer, Elsa looked over and gently opened her bomber jacket, revealing her wound. Elsa's clothing was stained with fresh and dark red blood that was dripping out between her fingers. Immediately, Anna's face morphed into a mask of horror, concern, and shock as she laid eyes on the wound.

"Elsa, You're bleeding!" Anna cried out in alarm. "Why didn't you say something?!"

The last thing Elsa wanted to do was to ruin Anna's excitement, so she grinned sheepishly. "I… didn't want you to worry."

"Didn't want me to worry? How could I not worry?!" Anna shouted hysterically. "You're important to me, you idiot! I love you, can't you see that?!"

She immediately searched around for something to use to place over Elsa's wound but found nothing. Still, Anna was resourceful so she unbuttoned her body armor and ripped off a section of fabric from her shirt to pad down the wound site.

"Press this down tight and keep pressure on it! Tight!" Anna ordered, after which she reached around Elsa's back to feel for an exit wound. "Shit… the bullet's still in your body, we need to find help fast."

Meanwhile, that wasn't the top of Elsa's concerns at the moment for she had caught what Anna had just said. "Did you say you… love me?"

"I did, so what?" Anna huffed. "You need to focus on staying alive right now Elsa. I'm taking us to K's, he'll know how to fix you up," she said as she punched in the new heading.

"Anna…" Elsa smiled weakly.

"Shh, don't talk," Anna said urgently, but not unkindly. "You need to save your strength"

"Anna."

"Elsa, no. Just stay awake, we're almost there, okay? It's my turn to save you so just let me do this and shut up, you sweet idiot."

Smiling from the affectionate insult, Elsa did as she was told. As much as she wanted to say the same back to Anna, she was becoming delirious from blood loss. Her head swam with nausea and her skin had turned noticeably paler than usual. Even blinking became a taxing task for Elsa and she had to devote the remainder of her energy to just staying awake to avoid slipping into shock.

After a short flight, they touched down in front of the Memory Palace where upon arrival, Anna opened the doors then looped one of Elsa's arms around her shoulders to assist her in standing. The front entrance to the memory palace would be closed at this time of night, so Anna led Elsa around the side towards an alleyway that would take them to the entrance to K's clinic.

As they crossed the street though, the strength in Elsa's legs finally failed her as she stumbled and fell to the snow covered ground.

"No, Elsa, come on! We're right there! Just hang on!" Anna exclaimed. "Come on, get up! I know you can do it, just get up!"

Her eyes were wild with concern, panic, and ringed with tears, which didn't abate even as Elsa softly ran her thumb over Anna's scarred cheek. Above them, the snow continued to fall all around, bringing a peaceful hush to the usually bustling city.

Elsa smiled, feeling the snowflakes that fell from the sky mix with her own tears where they melted and melded together on her skin. That feeling of coolness and warmth was real, just as her hand against Anna's skin was real, and just as real as the world that was rapidly vanishing around her. The only thing left was Anna and she felt all of her love and finally understood what it meant to be alive, to be human, and to be real. To feel and to be felt. To simply exist, with no uncertainty and with nothing asked for in return.

It was then, with sad finality, that Elsa knew she loved Anna as well. Nora had loved Anna too, and they had shared their best years together. This whole time, Elsa had only ever been a spectator, a passenger inside of another vessel. Nora's memory was given life and because of that, Elsa was allowed to exist. Elsa knew all of this now of course and she accepted that truth. Just the same, she loved Anna with all of her heart, body, and soul.

They had seen and experienced things that most people wouldn't believe. Elsa realized that everything she had gone through with Anna were all just small fleeting moments that were only temporary. Tiny pin drops in the vast ocean where past, present, and future flowed together and ultimately made no difference to the fabric of the universe. All of those little moments they shared would be lost in time, like tears in rain or like tears in snow. Despite it all, it was profoundly beautiful and liberating for Elsa. She knew then, even if she forgot everything she learned right now, it would have all been worth it.

Discovering her love for Anna would have been worth it. Experiencing a short slice of life with Anna would have been worth it. Best of all, finding out the Anna loved her in turn made it all worth it.

As Elsa lay in Anna's arms, she felt her consciousness slipping further and further away. Not knowing if she was going to die at this moment, she looked up into Anna's face to commit every last detail and nuance of her appearance to memory. Every last freckle, every last crimson hair on her head, every last mote of light in her teal eyes. Her scent, her smile, her essence. Anna's hope, dreams, and devotion. Elsa saw it all, felt it all, and absorbed it all until her soul became completely suffused with everything that was distinctively Anna, liberating her and freeing her from her earthly bonds.

Soon, her pain evaporated into nothingness as her senses became washed out and muted. Elsa fought as hard as she could to stay with Anna for only a few moments longer, drawing out as much love as she could from every last second but by now, she was too far gone.

Elsa smiled up at Anna one last time. "All the best memories are hers…"

With that, her vision turned to black and she saw no more.


	35. Old World Blues

* * *

"Elsa? Elsa!" Anna frantically shook her. "No… no no no! Hey, Elsa? Come on!"

She had fallen limp in Anna's arms and the hand that was resting on her cheek had fallen away.

"Don't do this to me, don't you dare," Anna shook her head in despair and disbelief. "Wake up! Please… Elsa!"

Despite the pain that flared up all across Anna's torso, she lifted Elsa's body into her arms then carried her the rest of the way to the entrance to K's clinic. There, she began to frantically kick the door with her foot.

"K! Open up!" Anna shouted. "It's Anna, come on! Open the goddamn door!"

Nothing happened at first, infuriating a desperate Anna even further. She turned her head up and looked to the window above the entrance where K's apartment was.

"I know you can hear me! I need your help, it's Elsa!" Anna's voice broke as she neared the edge of panic. "Sh- she's been shot!"

A few moments later, the window slid open and K poked his head out. The man had clearly been sleeping, as his eyes were bleary and he was dressed in reindeer pajamas.

"Anna?! Jesus H fuckin Christ," K sharpened to alertness as soon as he saw Elsa's body still dripping blood into the snow. "I'll be right down!"

Anna paced back and forth with Elsa's body in her arms, trampling the snow underneath her boots and turning it into a gruesome slushy as it mixed with the blood. Eventually, the door in front of her opened wide and Anna stepped in, brushing past K as she headed straight towards the operation room.

K shut the door behind them and locked it before catching up to Anna. "What the hell happened to her?" he glanced down, which was when he noticed Anna's new arm. "And what the hell happened to your arm!?"

"Long story, I'll tell you later. Can you help her?"

"Set her on the table."

Anna carried Elsa over, then gently laid her down on the operating table. There, K immediately looked her over and closely examined the wound site.

"She's practically drenched in blood," K observed. "I'm going to assume, for my sake, that you had nothing to do with that explosion at VanirCorp?"

"Most of its hers," Anna replied. "Some of it isn't."

K nodded in understanding then turned his attention back to Elsa. "She's been gutshot and by the looks of it, the bullet is still inside her body.

Elsa's eyes were closed and a sheen of sweat had formed on her skin. Despite her current situation, she looked as if she were peacefully asleep. Next to her, Anna was holding her hand with both of her own and she was a picture of frantic terror and concern.

"She's burning up," K said as he noticed Elsa's feverish appearance. "The, uh, bullet must have nicked her kidney. She's turning septic."

"Can you help her?" Anna asked, nearly pleading as her eyes stung with tears.

"I can," K said firmly. "But I'll have to operate right now."

"Do it. Whatever it takes, just… save her… please."

"Alright. But you're going to have to step out of the room, Anna."

"What! No, not gonna happen. I'm staying right here, she needs me. I can help you, just tell me what to-"

"Anna, listen to me. Whatever you've been through, I can tell you're hurt as well and you're in shock. Your hands are shaking nonstop and it looks like your cyberware might have been damaged too."

"I can do this! I'm not just gonna sit around and-"

"No. That's final. This isn't going to be pretty and right now I need you to calm down. If you want to help her, you need to let me do my job and step aside. So you can either leave on your own, or I'll sedate you."

Seeing the logic behind his reasoning, Anna couldn't argue so she nodded her agreement silently. Before she left, she placed a soft kiss on Elsa's hand, then rose up and brushed the hair from her face.

Anna looked up to K and opened her mouth to say thank you, but he cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"I know," K said. "Don't worry, I'm not going to let her die. I'll take a look at you as soon as I've stabilized her."

Nodding her gratitude, Anna sniffed, wiped her eyes, then departed from the operating room to leave K to his work. As she left the room, she heard the door audibly click as a latch was slid into place, locking it shut. K knew Anna all too well and he had correctly predicted that she may try to barge in some point, so by locking the door she would be forced to wait until the procedure was over.

As much as she didn't like it, she knew K was in the right and she had no reason to doubt his capabilities. Elsa needed K's full and undivided attention and Anna, being in the fragile state that she was right now, would only complicate matters. So with nothing else to do but wait, Anna began to pace rapidly back and forth in front of the doorway, praying to any gods she hadn't yet forsaken and hoping beyond hope that Elsa would pull through and make it.

… … …

For the next few hours, Anna passed the time by pacing back and forth, sitting in a chair restlessly, or repeatedly banging her head against a wall to stay awake. She had removed her armor and taken stock of her own condition. Her torso was riddled with purple and blue bruises from the multiple shots she had taken. Though none of them managed to penetrate her armor, Anna would still need a considerable amount of time to heal. Elsewhere, the bruise on Anna's forehead where she had been kicked had now swelled up nicely and the cut on her lip had stopped bleeding as the blood had coagulated.

Suffice to say, Anna was still in better health than Elsa was so she wasn't remotely concerned about her own status. Whatever K was doing he was taking his time, which didn't help to assuage any of the fear and doubt that Anna was currently feeling.

"She can't die," Anna said to herself. "She just can't. There is… no way that could happen. I mean, it's just not possible."

She was sitting in a chair, rocking back and forth.

"We didn't bust our asses all the way through the flood zone, all over the damn city, all the way to the middle of fucking nowhere just for her to die now. It wouldn't make any sense!"

She stood up from the chair, and walked down the hallway as she continued muttering to herself in her hysteria.

"I didn't fight my way up through VanirCorp just so she could die. No… no! She didn't save my life just so I could let her die, that's not gonna happen. She died once already, she did her time!"

In her ramblings, Anna had wandered over to the stage and found herself back inside the memory palace. It was dark and empty, but at the far end she could see the bar.

"No, I lost her once already and I won't lose her again. Not again! You don't get to die Elsa! You don't get to come into my life, make me feel things again, and then just fuck off into the sunset like that! No, _no_! Nuh uh, nah. Fuck that, and fuck you! You don't get killed because of a measly bullet, you don't get killed by anything! Only I get to kill you and I should kill you for pulling such a stunt like that! What the hell were you thinking?"

Anna glanced over to the bar and not even for a single second did she entertain the slightest notion of having a drink. She didn't want one and she didn't need one. All she wanted or needed was Elsa.

"Going back to VanirCorp just to protect me! God! Elsa… you… you really… know how to push every single one of buttons don't you. You and your kindness and selflessness and forgiveness, fucking... crap! I love you, but right now I really hate you, I could just-"

She stopped in place, pausing her ramblings as she heard the sound of her own voice then. It was the second time she had said that, and both times she meant it. Only now did she catch herself saying it deliberately instead of as a impulsive reaction beyond her control.

"I… love you," Anna repeated to herself, then chuckled goofily at how easy and natural it was for her to say that. "I love Elsa, of course I do. I'm such an idiot!"

And Anna did. She loved Nora once, so she could love Elsa as well. Troubled as one could be about that specific type of love they could hold for their sibling, Anna wasn't bothered by it. The love she had for Nora was different then the one she now had for Elsa. Both were equally valid and true, but Anna loved Elsa beyond the definition of sisterly love. For a long time, Anna had been numb to the world and to feelings and emotions. Nora's death had turned her into a bitter cynic and Anna viewed much of the world through a black and white filter. Ever since she met Elsa however, it was as if color and vibrancy had returned to Anna's life. Because of Elsa, Anna found herself able to dare again, to dream again, and to hope again.

All of the goodness and everything that was right in the world, Anna saw in Elsa. In turn, Elsa poured out her essence and filled Anna's soul with warmth, light, and life.

Anna slapped her forehead and didn't even mind the pain it caused on her bruise. She then relished in the feeling for her pain and joy became mixed together as a result of her love for Elsa. After everything they had endured and suffered together, it seems that both Anna and Elsa had been able to push through and become something better and something greater than what they once were.

Alone, Anna would have remained a bitter resentful woman who likely would have drunk herself to death. Elsa would have remained a woman grasping at threads of a life she didn't even know she had, and would have been resigned to a fate of endless torment. But together, Anna and Elsa's union had forged an unbreakable bond that could not even be severed by death itself. They had been pulled back together from beyond the pale, stretching across time and reaching through the void to become one again.

Anna and Elsa were two parts of a whole who had been cleaved apart by dearth, time, and space. But now, they had found each other.

And nothing would ever tear them apart ever again.

Feeling lighter in mind - if not body - Anna laughed at herself. She laughed at how long it had taken for her to come to that realization and at the absurdity of life in general. She laughed until she cried and continued laughing even though it hurt her to do so because of the bruises across her body. Anna was grateful for the pain, she was grateful for her life, and most of all she was grateful for Elsa.

"Anna?" K asked as she stepped out onto the stage, looking around in confusion. "What… what the hell are you laughing at?"

Anna immediately spun around and ran up to K. "Elsa, is she-"

"She's alright," K smiled. "Pulled the bullet out and patched her up. She's resting now, you can go and-"

He didn't get to finish as in the next second, a bouncing giggling flash of red hair passed right by him, leaving him alone on the stage.

Anna ran until she arrived back at the operation room, then burst through the doors. Across the way, Elsa was sleeping peacefully beneath her covers. Not wanting to disturb her much needed rest, Anna tiptoed over to Elsa's side, pulled up a chair, and then sat down. Only a few days ago, Elsa had done just the same when Anna was bedridden.

There, Anna grabbed one of Elsa's hands and rubbed the back of it over her own cheek, relishing in the warmth and life that was still there thanks to K's work.

As if on cue, K appeared behind Anna as he gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "She's going to pull through Anna, don't worry."

"Thank you," Anna said tearfully without looking at K, for she kept her eyes glued to Elsa. "Really… I mean it."

"It's nothing," K replied. "Now, if you don't mind I'd really like to deal with you now and see to those bruises."

Anna nodded her agreement. "Okay, but I'm staying right here."

K smirked. "That's fine. I had a feeling you'd say that so just settle in and relax."

First, K inspected Anna's head, turning it this way and that. Afterwards, he shined a penlight to her eyes to check the dilation to see if there was any severe internal head trauma, but he found nothing out of the ordinary. Next, he closely examined Anna's scar on her cheek, frowning as he did.

"So, gonna tell me what you've been up to lately?" K asked.

Anna sighed. "Oh, K, where to begin?"

"How about with the last time we saw each other. Because from what I remember, you were about to sell Elsa back to VanirCorp."

Anna felt a hot flash of shame as she shied away from K's intense gaze. That had been her lowest point, but it also proved to be the moment of her profound change of heart.

"Yeah… I'm sorry," Anna mumbled. "That was shitty of me, I was just… I- I don't know. I can never forgive myself for that. If I could I'd take it back, I'd take all of it back."

"You changed your mind."

"Yeah," Anna glanced over to Elsa fondly. "Yeah, I did."

K nodded in understanding, then went away to retrieve a tube of medi-gel. Once he returned, he began applying it to the bruise on Anna's forehead.

"This will bring down the swelling and ease the pain. I'll leave you to apply it over your body," K said out of respect for Anna. "What happened after that?"

Anna leaned her head back against the chair and over the next several minutes, she recounted her journey with Elsa to Gjallarbrú. When Anna described their objective to retrieve Detoxicillin from an abandoned hospital as well as the creatures that resided there, K could hardly believe it. When Anna spoke of the wolf attack, her injury, as well as her subsequent bout of radiation poisoning, K was at a loss for words.

"And yeah… I was out of it for a few days while the meds worked their way through my system, but after that, I was right as rain," Anna said.

In the meantime, K had been working diligently away with a set of tools as he repaired the damage to Anna's cybernetic arm. "Jesus… you went through all that just for her?" he asked as he fixed her with a curious look. "Just who is she to you?"

"She's _everything_ to me," Anna replied as she looked over to Elsa and smiled serenely.

"It's a good thing you two found each other then," K said. "So, what came next?"

Anna deliberately left out the part of her and Elsa's little romp in the shower, pushing past it to when they explored the android research sector. She explained everything that happened there and soon as she told K of their true relationship, his jaw dropped.

"Your sister, Nora?" K asked. "Shit… I mean, looking at you two now, it makes total sense, but… that's fucked up, what they did to her."

"You don't know the half of it," Anna agreed. "We left straight away after that, came back here and…"

Once again, Anna decided to change up a few details to avoid letting on the true nature of what happened as much as possible.

"They got us soon as we came back to the city. Bunch of androids ambushed us, knocked me out and left me for dead while they grabbed Elsa and took her back. And then-"

"I think I got it," K said. "I can hardly believe it, but after everything you two have done for each other and with who she is… I can believe it," he smiled knowingly. "You did a good thing."

"You were right you know," Anna said quietly. "About everything, about me. I guess I never really never tried to do the right thing, I just always did what I had to do to survive, you know? Just keep your head down, don't ask questions, and just try and… survive. Does that… make me a bad person?"

K shook his head adamantly. "No, Anna, no it doesn't. I know you, not as well as Elsa here, but we spent a few years on the streets together. You're a better person than you think you are. You always pay people who need it more than they ask for, even when you yourself barely had enough credits to scratch by. You always try and help out street kids, because you were once like them too. Remember when I patched up that burn mark on your leg? You were just sticking up for some random boy you didn't even know. And if you still don't believe me, just look at her," he gestured to Elsa. "She's here because of you. She has her life back because of you."

Anna sniffed and smiled gratefully. "She saved my life, I saved hers. If I had given her away that day, I never would have got my sister back."

"You've got something anybody would kill to have, Anna. A second chance."

"Yeah," Anna nodded then her expression turned solemn as she fixed K with an apologetic look. "Which is why we have to leave."

K didn't even look surprised, for he had already come to that conclusion.

"There's no way we can stay here, not anymore. I need to take her far away from anybody who would try and use her. I want to give her a life. An actual one, not some fake bullshit somebody shoved into her head, but… something _real._ "

"I know, Anna. I understand."

"You could come with us you know? I've got enough credits, we could leave together, tonight even. I was thinking we'd go to the colony on the moon, or Mars. Someplace definitely not on earth."

"No, no… that's your life, yours and hers. I'm staying here, I've got my practice to look after, people need me and I can do some good here. I'm sorry."

"W- we probably won't see each other for a while…"

"So keep in touch."

Anna said nothing else as she fought back her tears. Leaving New York meant that she would have to leave her only other friend she had ever made in the world. This last night would be the last time they would see each other.

They both remained silent for a while K finished up his work. After he was done, he set his tools away, made one final check on Elsa, then turned towards Anna.

"All done," K smiled. "I'll leave you two alone now. Get some rest, Anna. Doctor's orders."

Anna returned a tired grin. "I will, thank you K. For everything."

"I'll be upstairs if you need anything," K yawned and stretched, then turned and started heading out. "We'll talk more in the morning?"

"We'll be here. Count on it."

"See you then. Goodnight, Anna."

"Night, K."

After that, K left and shut the door behind him with a soft click, leaving Anna alone with Elsa who was still fast asleep.

Using the quiet time alone, Anna lifted up her shirt and examined her body in a nearby mirror. She took the tube of medi-gel then began applying it liberally all over her torso, shoulders, and the parts of her back that she could reach, wincing as she did. When she was done, she felt a small amount of relief as the painkillers in the medi-gel worked their magic and soon, Anna started to feel drowsy.

With nothing else to do, she put her shirt back on then went over to Elsa's bed and lifted the sheets. Much of Elsa's torso was bare, though she was modestly covered by a large set of bandages that wrapped around her body.

Anna crawled into bed next to Elsa, laid her head on her chest, wrapped her arms and legs around her, covered themselves back up beneath the sheets, then closed her eyes. Somewhere in her sleep, Elsa adjusted her body and reached out for Anna in return, intertwining their arms and legs. They stayed like that for a long time and Anna simply spent it listening to the calming sound of Elsa's steady heartbeat and her even breathing.

Before long, Anna fell into a deep and restful sleep while outside, the night passed on in peace and silence. Not that it mattered to Anna, for her entire world was right there in her arms.


End file.
